iM. 


in  Congress  |  <1V  . -r,,-  i  Doci  men r 

1st  Session      I  '  '  vx  M  I    \ 


BOUNDARY   LINE 

BETWEEN 

FLORIDA  AND  GEORGIA 


CERTAIN  DOCUMENTS  AND  REPORTS 
RELATING  TO  THE  LOCATING  AND 
MARKING  OF  THE  LINE  BETWEEN 
THE  TERRITORY  AND  STATE  OF  FLOR- 
IDA AND  THE  STATE  OF  GEORGIA 


■STY  , 
Lirogafr 

PRESENTED  BY  MR.  BACON 


May  9,  1908. — Ordered  to  be  reprinted  as  a  Senate  Document 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT   PRINTING   OFFICE 

1908 


20th  CONGRESS, 

1st  Session.  I   55   I 


FROM    THE 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

TRANSMITTING 

COMMUNICATIONS    EKOM    THE    OOVERNOR    OE    OEOBGIA, 

IN    RELATION    TO   THE   STB.IECT   0F 

RUNNING  AM)  MARKING  THE  LINE 

DIVIDING    THE 

TERRITORY  OF  FLORIDA 

PROM   THE 

STATE  OF  GEORGIA. 


January  23,   lsi>s 
Printed  by  order  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 


lSHINGTON: 

PRINTED    BY    DUFF   GREEN. 
1828. 


[55] 


OF    TH€ 

^NIVERS/TY 

OF 


To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States. 

Washington,  22<2  January,  1828. 
By  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  the  Documents  from 
that  Department,  exhibited  to  Congress  at  the  commencement  of  then- 
present  session,  they  were  advised  of  the  measures  taken  for  carrying 
into  execution  the  act  of  4th  May,  1S26,  to  authorize  the  President  of 
the  United  States  to  run  and  mark  a  line  dividing  the  Territory  of 
Florida  from  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  of  their  unsuccessful  result.  I 
now  transmit  to  Congress  copies  of  communications  received  from 
the  Governor  of  Georgia,  relating  to  that  subject. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 


[55  1 


n  act  to  prevent  the  surveying  or  granting  of  certain  lands,  either 
under  head  rights,  or  in  any  other  way;  and  for  other  purposes. 

Whereas  the  dividing  line  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and 
lorida,  has  not  yet  been  run  and  marked,  but  when  run  must  be  from 
le  head  or  source  of  St.  Mary's  river,  straight  to  the  confluence  of 
lint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers;  and  whereas,  it  is  believed,  that  the 
lid  line  must,  and  of  right  ought  to,  commence  from  the  head  or 
uirce  of  the  south  branch  of  St.  Mary's  river,  in  which  event  a  large 
artion  of  territory  will  be  included  within  the  limits  of  Camden 
ounty.  and  subject  to  be  surveyed  and  granted  as  vacant  lands: 
Sec.  1.  Be  it  therefore  enacted,  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
ntatives  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it  is 
?reby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  that  it  shall  not  be  lawful 
>r  any  portion  of  the  territory  lying  between  a  direct  line  from 
llicott's  mound,  upon  the  north  branch  of  St.  Mary's  river,  to  the 
mction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers,  and  the  dividing 
ne  which  may  hereafter  be  run  and  marked  between  the  State  of 
eorgia  and  Florida,  to  be  survej^ed  and  granted  as  vacant  land,  or 
any  other  wa}T,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  until  provision  therefor 
lall  be  made  by  law ;  and  that  all  surveys  which  shall  be  so  made, 
Lall  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby  declared,  null  and  void. 
Sec.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  that 
hen  the  said  line  shall  be  run  and  marked,  if  any  portion  of  the 
rritory  shall  be  included  within  the  State  of  Georgia,  which  may 
i  claimed  and  held  under  and  by  virtue  of  a  grant  or  grants  from 
te  United  States,  upon  purchases  made  previous  to  the  passage  of 
is  act :  then,  and  in  that  case,  the  said  grant  or  grants  shall  be,  and 
ey  are  hereby  declared,  good  and  valid,  to  all  intents  and  purposes. 
rovided  the  United  States  shall  and  do.  within  two  years  from  the 
me  of  running  and  marking  said  line,  pay  to  the  State  of  Georgia, 
e  amount  for  which  the  territory  so  held  and  granted,  may  have 
en  sold  by  the  United  States. 

[Signed]  IRBY  HUDSON, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

[Signed]  THOMAS  STOCKS, 

President  of  the  Senate, 
ssented  to,  Dec.  24th,  1827. 
[Signed]  JOHN   FORSYTH, 

Govt  rnor. 


[55]  6 

Executive  Department. 

MlLEEDGEVILLE,  20 th  Nov.   1827. 

Sir  :  On  the  question  which  has  arisen  between  the  State  of  Geor- 
gia and  the  United  States,  during  the  recent  effort  to  mark  the 
boundary  line  between  this  State  and  the  Territory  of  Florida,  it 
will,  it  is  presumed,  be  satisfactory  to  you,  to  examine,  before  the 
meeting  of  Congress,  the  evidence  on  which  the  State  relies  to  estab- 
lish the  fact,  that  the  source  of  the  St.  Mary's,  is  the  lake  or  spring 
from  which  issues  the  most  southern  branch  of  that  river :  and,  there- 
fore, the  spot  at  which  must  terminate  the  straight  line  to  be  drawn 
from  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahooehie  rivers,  according 
to  the  second  article  of  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and 
Spain,  of  the  27th  October.  1705.  *  The  subject  having  been  brought 
before  the  General  Assembly,  by  my  predecessor,  and  not  yet  acted 
on  by  them,  it  would  be  improper  for  me  to  do  more,  in  transmitting 
that  evidence,  than  to  request  your  attention  to  it :  no  doubt  being 
entertained  that  its  force  and  importance  will  be  duly  weighed. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be. 

With  perfect  consideration. 

Your  obedient  servant. 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 
The  President 

Of  the  United  States. 


Cop>/  of  the  Report  of  John  McBride,  Esq.  relative  to  the  source 
of  the  St.  Mary' 8  River. 

Eatonton,  August  7.  1S27. 

Sir:  Agreeably  to  your  instructions  of  the  20th  June  last,  re- 
quiring me.  under  the  direction  of  Thomas  Spalding,  Esq.  Commis- 
sioner, to  ascertain  the  true  head  or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river, 
I  proceeded  immediately  to  Darien,  to  join  Mr.  Spalding.  For  rea- 
sons which  he  has  detailed  to  you.  Mr.  Spalding  believed  it  unnec- 
essary that  he  should  accompany  me  in  the  tour,  and  superintend, 
personally,  the  discharge  of  the  duties  confided  to  us.  After  receiv- 
ing from  him  every  requisite  aid  in  procuring  supplies  and  trans- 
portation, and.  at  my  request,  his  written  instructions.  I  repaired 
without  delay  to  the  region  which  I  was  to  examine,  and  arrived  at 
Firman's  on  the  3d  of  July. 

By  reference  to  the  chart  which  accompanies  this  report,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  St.  Mary's  is  formed  by  three  principal  branches,  the 
north,  the  west,  and  the  south.  To  ascertain  the  source  of  each  of 
these  branches,  their  length,  and  relative  magnitude,  at  their  points 
of  confluence  with  each  other,  was  considered  the  object  of  my  mis- 
sion: and  having  learned  that  the  north  and  south  branches  unite 


7  |  55  | 

about  four  miles  below  the  mound  A.,  or  Commissioner's  Encamp- 
ment, I  proceeded  to  that  point,  and  carefully  measured  the  width, 

depth,  and  velocity  of  the  current  of  each  branch,  both  al  the  junction 
and  about  half  a  mile  above  it.  From  the  mean  result  of  these  ob- 
servations, it  appears  that  the  south  branch  discharges  L369,  and  the 
north  branch  993  cubic  feet  of  water  per  minute.     Hence  the  south 

branch  is  to  tbe  north  as  1309  is  to  993,  or  very  nearly  as  JO  to  '2J>. 
A  traverse  was  commenced  near  the  junction,  and  continued  up  the 
south  branch  to  the  outlet  of  Lake  Spalding,  about  thirty  miles, 
and  another  traverse,  four  miles  in  length,  connecting  Lake  Spal- 
ding with  Lake  Randolph.  These  are  beautiful  lakes  of  transparent 
water,  the  former  supposed  to  be  nine  miles  in  circumference,  the 
latter  twelve.  As  no  soundings  could  be  made,  their  depth  is  un- 
known. The  sources  of  the  south  and  west  branch  being  thus  ascer- 
tained, the  volume  of  water  contained  in  the  north  and  west  branches 
was  then  measured  at  their  junction,  and  the  following  result 
obtained : 

Cubic  feet  of  water  discharged  by  the  north  branch,  in  1  minute.     L59 
Do.     do.  do.  do.         by  the  west  branch,  in  1  minute,     238 

The  fact  is  then  clearly  established,  that,  of  the  three  branches  into 
which  the  St.  Mary's  is  divided,  the  south  is  the  greatest,  and  the 
north  is  the  least,  though  it  is  represented  by  Messrs.  Ellicott  and 
Miner  as  the  principal.  The  only  criteria  for  determining  the  princi- 
pal branch  of  a  river,  must  be  its  length,  volume  of  water,  and  general 
direction :  and  these  all  coincide  in  the  south  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's. 
It  is  three  miles  longer  than  either  of  the  other  branches,  and  dis- 
charges one-third  more  water  than  both  of  them  together.  Tts  general 
direction  agrees  with  that  of  the  lower  section  of  the  river,  much,  bet- 
ter than  either  of  the  other  branches.  If  a  line  be  drawn  from  Point 
Peter  to  the  confluence  of  the  north  and  south  brandies,  and  indefi- 
nitely produced  towards  the  south-west,  it  will  pass  through  Lake 
Spalding,  the  source  of  the  south  branch. 

It  had  been  intended  to  make  a  running  survey  of  the  north  branch 
also,  but  from  the  very  satisfactory  nature  of  the  information  already 
obtained,  together  with  some  previous  knowledge  of  the  sources  of  the 
north  branch,  this  intention  was  abandoned:  believing  that  a  further 
examination,  while  it  would  be  attended  with  additional  expense, 
could  be  productive  of  no  real  utility. 

In  collecting  information  respecting  the  topography  of  the  country, 
which  it  had  become  my  duty  to  examine,  I  availed  myself  of  the  aid 
which  could  be  afforded  by  the  inhabitants.  Though  the  population 
is  extremely  sparse,  yet  no  country  is  better  known  than  this.  Re- 
sorting hither  for  the  benefits  of  the  chase,  and  for  the  pasturage  of 
immense  herds  of  cattle,  their  knowledge  of  the  country  is  extensive 
and  accurate:  and  experience  has  proven  that  information  derived 
from  them  may  be  safely  confided  in.  Messrs.  ("one.  Brown,  Bar- 
bour, Jernigan.  and  Sparkman,  of  Camden  county,  and  Filman,  Ellis, 
Parrish,  and  Long,  of  Florida,  have  freely  communicated  any  in- 
formation that  has  been  requested  of  them;  and  I  have  the  satisfac- 
tion of  being  able  to  inform  your  excellency,  that,  in  support  of  my 


[55]  8 

own  opinion,  chiefly  founded  upon  actual  admeasurement,  these  men 
have  no  doubt  but  that  the  north  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's  is  less  than 
cither  of  the  other  two.  and  that  it  can  have  no  just  "pretensions  to 
being  considered  the  principal.  By  Mr.  Filman,  who  lives  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  Pine  Log-.  I  was  informed  that,  at  the  time  of 
making  this  examination,  the  whole  of  the  water  in  the  north  branch 
was  afforded  by  Alligator  Creek,  and  that,  at  the  Pine  Log.  the 
channel   was   dry   and   dusty. 

The  United  States  and  Spanish  Commissioners,  who  in  1800  at- 
tempted to  ascertain  the  source  of  the  St.  Mary's,  in  ascending  the 
river  with  their  canoes,  passed  the  junction  of  the  North  and  South 
branches,  considering  the  former  as  the  principal.  That  those  Com- 
missioners should  have  made  an  erroneous  determination,  may  be 
attributed  to  the  deceptive  appearance  of  the  two  branches  at  their 
confluence,  and  to  the  peculiarly  unfavorable  season  in  which  their 
investigation  was  made.  The  channel  of  the  North  branch  is  wider 
than  that  of  the  South.  Its  depth  is  greater,  and  its  water  of  a  dark 
reddish  color.  At  the  point  of  disemboguement  the  South  branch  is 
a  beautiful  limpid  stream,  whose  narrow  channel  and  transparent 
water  render  it  apparently  one-third  less  than  the  North.  But  its 
velocity  is  one  hundred  and  sixteen  feet  per  minute,  while  that  of 
the  North  branch  is  only  thirty-eight.  The  disparity  of  width  in 
these  branches  is  accounted  for  by  the  difference  of  the  countries  in 
which  they  have  their  sources.  That  in  which  the  South  branch 
rises,  is  gently  undulating:  and  the  transparency  and  low  tempera- 
ture of  the  water  prove  its  origin  to  be  principally  in  springs.  The 
vicinity  of  the  sources  of  the  North  branch,  is  frequently  an  extended 
plane,  with  but  little  elevation  or  depression,  which  in  rainy  seasons 
is  completely  inundated  for  many  miles:  and  these  vast  sheets  of 
water  being  drained  into  the  North  branch,  increase  its  volume  to  a 
torrent,  which  forms  a  channel  much  wider  than  the  South  branch. 
"When  the  United  States  and  Spanish  Commissioners  were  here  in 
February.  1800,  Mr.  Ellicott.  in  his  Journal,  informs  us  that  the 
swamps  at  that  season  of  the  year  were  "  absolutely  impenetrable,"' 
in  consequence  of  the  preceding  winter's  rains.  We  cannot,  there- 
fore, be  surprised  at  their  failure  to  make  a  correct  determination. 

The  loss  sustained  by  Georgia  in  running  the  boundary  according 
to  the  agreement  of  those  Commissioners,  is  a  triangle  whose  base  is 
157  miles,  its  perpendicular  30  miles,  and  area  2355  square  miles,  or 
1.507.200  acres. 

Respecting  the  general  character  of  the  country  through  which  our 
southern  boundary  passes,  it  may  be  remarked,  that,  in  proceeding 
westwardly  from  the  Pine  Log.  for  sixty-five  miles,  the  soil  is  ex- 
tremely barren,  and  swamps,  cypress  ponds,  bay  galls,  and  saw  pal- 
metto abundant.  The  Suwanny  and  Allapaha  rivers  are  found  in 
this  section:  but  there  is  little  land  in  their  vicinity  that  can  ever 
reward  the  agriculturist  for  his  labors.  On  approaching  the  Weeth- 
lochochie.  the  face  of  the  country  is  much  altered.  Here  it  becomes 
more  undulating,  and  lime  pits  and  lakes  of  pellucid  water  are  skirted 


9  [55] 

by  slips  of  fertile  land.  From  this,  the  soil  is  remarkable  only  for 
it>  sterility  for  twenty-five  miles,  and  until  we  approach  the  Ocilla, 
where  are  found  tracts  of  excellent  land  interspersed  with  lakes  and 
deep  morasses.  The  saw  palmetto  and  cypress  ponds  here  disappear; 
but  the  former  barrenness  of  soil  continues  generally  throughout  the 
remaining  part  of  the  boundary,  except  in  the  vicinities  of  the 
Mickasuky  ami  Imonia  Lakes,  the  Okelockanne  River,  and  Atta- 
pulgas  Creek,  where  Large  bodies  of  rich  loam  will  repay  the  pur- 
chaser for  his  adventure,  and  the  laborer  for  his  toil. 
With  considerations  of  respect. 

Your  Excellency's  most  ob't  serv't. 
|  Signed]  "  JOHN  McBEIDE,  Surveyor. 

Governor  Troup,  Milledgeville. 


Notts  and  Estimate*  made  in  ascertaining  the  volume  of  the  several 
Branches  of  the  St.  .Vary's  Hirer. 

Xo.  1. — X.  Branch.  (Junction  C.) 

Width.  ......  30.6  feet 

Mean  depth,  -  -  666 

Velocity  of  the  surface,  per  minute.  -  -  4422* 

To  find  the  Volume. 

V4422  —  1  =  5.049 

5.649  X  5.649  =  31.0.  the  velocity  at  the  bottom  and  sides. 

44.22  +  31.9      „QC    .,  \     ., 
-! =  38.6,  the  mean  velocity. 

And  39.6  X  -666  X  38.6  =  1003.77  cubic  feet,  the  volume. 

Xo.  2.— S.  Branch.  (Junction  C.) 

Width,  -  -  -  -  -  26.4  feet. 

Mean  depth  -  -  -  -  -  .5 

Velocity  of  the  surface,  per  minute  -  -       126.  72 

To  ft'/td  the  Volumt . 

V  126.72  — 1  =  10.257. 

10.257  X  10.257  =  105.2,  the  velocity  at  the  bottom  and  sides. 

126.72  +  105.2      11-(W.\,  i 

^ — =  115.96,  the  mean  velocity. 

And  26.4X- 5X115.96  =  1530.07  cubic  feet,  the  volume. 

*  To  obtain  the  mean  velocity  of  a  current  from  that  of  its  surface,  Mr. 
Fulton  has  obligingly  furnished  me  with  the  following  rule,  in  which  x  repre- 
sents the  velocity  of  the  surface,  and  z  that  of  the  bottom  and  sides. 

2 

V  X  —  1  =  Vz.     And  -  ..  -  =the  mean  velocity. 


[55]  10 

No.  3. — North  Branch  (half  a  mile  above  No.  1.) 

Width  -  -  -  -  -  -40.26  feet. 

Mean  depth  -  -  -  -  6. 97 

Velocity  of  the  surface,  per  minute  -  -         40.  92 

To  -find  the  mean  Velocity. 

V  40.92  —  1  =  5.4.  very  near. 

5.4  X  5.4  =  29.16,  the  velocity  of  the  bottom  and  sides. 

40.92  +  29.16      „-„,.!        *  ,     .. 

— £ —        =  3o.04,  the  mean  velocity. 

And  40.26  x  .697  X  35.04  =  983.26  cubic  feet,  the  volume. 

No.  4. — South  Branch  (half  a  mile  above  No.  2.) 

Width  ...  -  -         18. 56  feet. 

Mean  depth  -  -  -  -  1. 14 

Velocity  of  the  surface  per  minute  -  -         64.  68 

To  fnd  the  mean  Velocity. 

V  64.68  —  1  =  7.042. 

7.042  X  7.042  =  49.58,  the  velocity  at  the  bottom  and  sides. 

64.68  +  49.58       K#y1_    ..  ,     .. 

J>        — =  57.13,  the  mean  velocity. 

And  18.56  X  1.14  X  57.13  =  1208.67  cubic  feet,  the  volume. 

No.  5. — North  Branch  (Junction  of  the  N.  and  W.  branches.) 

Width  -  -  -  -  -  -18.48  feet. 

Mean  depth  -  -  -  -  -  1. 03 

Velocity  of  the  surface,  per  minute  -  -         11.22 

To  find  the  mean  Velocity. 

V  11.22  —  1  =  2.35.  nearly. 

2.35  X  2.35  =  5.52.  the  velocity  of  the  bottom. 

11.22  +  5.52       QQI_   .,  ,     .. 

0  =  8.37,  the  mean  velocity. 

And  18.48  X  1-03  X  8.37  =  159.3  cubic  feet,  the  volume. 

No.  6. — West  Branch  (Junction  of  the  N.  and  W.  branches.) 

Width  -  -  -  -  -         11.22  feet. 

Mean  depth  -  -  32 

Velocity  at  the  surface,  per  minute  -  -         74.  58 

To  find  the  mean  Velocity. 

V  74.58  —  1  =  7.636. 

7.636  X  7.636  =  58.3.  velocity  at  the  bottom  and  sides. 
74.58  +  58.3  =  66.44,  the  mean  velocity. 
And  11.22  X  -32  X  63.44  =  238.54  cubic  feet,  the  volume. 


11  I  55 

Result  of  Xo.  1.  X.  B.  -  -  -  1003.78 

Result  of  Xo.  3,  X.  B.  -  -  983.26 

Sum  .....  L987.04 


Mean  ....  993.52 

Result  of  Xo.  2.  S.  B.  -            -            -  1530.67 

Result  of  Xo.  -1.  S.  B.  ...  1208.77 

Sum  ....  2739.44 


Mean  .....         1369.72 

As  1369  :  993  : :  4  :  2.9 
Or  S.  B.  :  X.  B.  : :  4  :  2.9,  or  as  40  to  29. 

Result  of  Xo.  5,  X.  B.  -  -  159.3 

Result  of  Xo.  6,  W.  B.  -  238.54 

As  238.5:159.3:3:2. 
Or  W.  B.  :  X.  B.  :  3  :  2. 

Respectfully  submitted. 
[Signed]        JOHX  McBRIDE,  Surv 
October  1,  1827. 


[55]  12 


The  Governor  of  Georgia  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Executive  Department.  Georgia, 
Milledgeville.  December  29,  L827. 

Sir:  I  have  been  requested  by  the  General  Assembly  to  open  a  cor- 
respondence with  yon,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  adjustment  of  the 
boundary  line  between  this  State  and  the  Territory  of  Florida.  It  is 
well  understood  here.  that,  until  the  act  of  Congress,  passed  the  4th  of 
May.  1826,  authorizing:  the  President  to  run  and  mark  a  line  dividing 
Florida  from  Georgia,  is  altered  or  repealed,  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 
the  Union  has  not  power  to  comply  with  the  just  expectations  of  the 
State,  in  relation  to  its  southern  boundary.  This  communication  is 
made,  therefore,  under  the  expectation  that  it  will  be  laid  before  Con- 
gress, with  such  recommendations  as  the  respective  rights  of  the  State. 
and  of  the  United  States,  may,  in  your  judgment,  require.  The  sub- 
ject is  of  deep  interest  to  this  State,  not  from  the  value  of  the  land, 
the  title  to  which  is  dependent  upon  the  decision  of  it,  but  because 
the  description  of  the  boundary  is  a  part  of  our  Constitution.  To  the 
Union  it  it  is  of  little  moment,  except  as  it  affords  a  fair  occasion  to 
consult,  frankly,  the  wishes  of  one  of  its  members,  and  to  establish  a 
character  for  liberality,  to  the  individual  State,  of  far  greater  impor- 
tance than  the  acquisition  of  a  few  hundred  thousand  acres  of  arid 
territory. 

It  is  one.  too.  on  which  even  a  concession  to  the  State,  if  the  right 
were  doubtful,  is  recommended  by  the  consideration,  that  the  land 
which  would  be  given  up  will  remain,  although  in  a  different  form, 
a  portion  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  resources  of  the  Union. 

Addressing  myself  to  the  Government  of  the  Union,  to  whom  the 
Territory  of  Florida  now  belongs,  no  doubt  is  entertained  that  a  de- 
monstration of  the  right  of  the  State  will  be  followed  by  a  prompt 
acknowledgment,  and  such  legislative  provisions  as  may  be  necessary 
to  secure  the  full  enjoyment  of  it.  The  southern  limits  of  Georgia 
depend,  first,  upon  the  charter  to  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina. 
of  1663.  Secondly,  upon  the  proclamation  of  the  King  of  Great 
Britain,  of  1763.  establishing  the  boundary  between  Georgia  and  the 
two  Floridas,  and  the  King"-  commission  to  Sir  James  Wright,  of 
1761.  Thirdly,  upon  the  treaties  between  the  United  State-  and 
Great  Britain.* of  the  30th  of  November.  17Sl>.  and  of  the  3d  of  Sep- 
tember. 1783. 

Confining  myself  to  the  southern  boundary  of  the  State,  according 
to  the  territorial  limits  fixed  in  the  compact  with  the  United  States. 
of  1802,  it  is  a  line  beginning  at  the  most  southern  branch  of  the  St. 
Mary's  River:  thence  up  the  said  river  to  its  source:  thence  in  a  direct 
line 'to  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers.  Subse- 
quent to  the  treaty  of  1782,  Spain,  having  obtained  from  Britain  a 
cession  of  the  Floridas.  without  any  description  of  limits,  was  dis- 
posed  to  make  territorial  pretensions  inconsistent  with  our  rights. 
The  treat v  of  1795.  concluded  at  San  Lorenzo,  by  Mr.  Pinkney  and 


13  |  55  | 

the  Duke  of  Alcudia,  put  an  end  to  these  pretentions.  The  second 
article  of  the  treaty,  conformably  to  the  instructions  of  Mr.  Jefferson, 
then  Secretary  of  State  under  General  Washington's  administration, 
describes  the  line  between  Florida  and  the  United  States,  (acting  for 
Georgia,)  in  the  words  used  in  the  Treaty  of  Peace  of  L782,  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  For  the  purpose  of  preventing 
disputes,  and  to  produce  an  immediate  good  effect  on  the  Indians  on 
the  borders  of  Georgia  and  Florida,  Mr.  Pinkney  introduced,  without 
instructions,  into  the  treaty,  an  article,  (the  third,)  providing  for  the 
immediate  demarcation  of  the  boundary  line  described  in  the  second 
article. 

This  article  required  the  appointment  of  a  Commissioner  and  Sur- 
veyor by  each  Government,  who  were  to  meet  at  Natchez,  within  ,ix 
months  from  the  date  of  the  ratification  of  the  Convention,  and  to  run 
and  mark  the  line  according  to  the  preceding  article:  they  were  to 
make  plats  and  keep  journals  of  their  proceedings,  which  were  to  be 
considered  a  part  of  the  Convention,  and  to  have  the  same  force  as  if 
inserted  therein.  A  Commissioner  and  Surveyor  were  appointed  by 
the  United  States  to  execute  these  stipulations.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
detail  all  the  circumstances  which  occurred,  from  the  meeting  of  the 
American  Commissioner  with  the  Spanish  officer,  who  was  said  to  be 
the  Commissioner  of  Spain,  to  the  period  when  the  work  was  finally 
interrupted  and  left  unfinished;  which,  by  some  fatality,  happened 
precisely  at  the  point  where  the  present  southern  boundary  of  Georgia 
begins  on  the  Chattahoochie.  It  is  sufficient  for  the  present  purpose  t<> 
recall  to  your  recollection  these  facts,  resting  upon  the  assertion  of  the 
Commissioner  of  the  United  States,  that  every  artifice  was  used  by  the 
Spanish  Governor  of  Louisiana,  who  is  stated  to  have  been  the  Com- 
missioner of  the  Kino-  of  Spain,  to  prevent  the  commencement  of  the 
demarcation:  that  every  obstacle  he  could  secretly  interpose  was  pre- 
sented to  delay  the  execution  of  the  work;  that  by  the  dishonorable 
intrigues  of  the  Spanish  authorities,  with  the  Indians  residing  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  line  to  be  marked,  and  their  disregard  of  the  provisions 
contained  in  the  third  article  of  the  treaty,  they  at  last  succeeded  in 
compelling  the  American  Commissioner  to  abandon  the  work,  and 
leave  it.  as  it  has  continued  to  this  day.  incomplete. 

The  State  now  asks  from  Congress  the  fulfilment  of  the  stipulations 
made  tor  her.  in  1705.  with  Spain,  the  completion  of  the  work  not 
completed,  because  Spain  was  unfaithful  to  her  engagements. 

The  current  of  events,  favorable  to  the  repose  and  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  Union,  have  placed  it  in  the  power  of  Congress  to  do  imme- 
diate justice.  It  is  not  now  necessary  lor  you.  Sir.  to  prosecute  a  pain- 
ful and  tedious  negotiation  with  a  Government  most  unwilling  to 
understand  the  just  claims  of  others,  and  orocrastinating  through  pol- 
icy the  acknowledgment  of  them  when  they  can  no  longer  lie  denied. 
The  United  States  stand  in  the  place  of  Spain,  hold  the  title  of  that 
Government,  and  no  other,  to  the  Territorv  of  Florida,  and  they  have 
only  to  satisfy  themselves  what  Spain  could  justly  claim,  in  a  contro- 
versy with  this  Stale,  under  the  Convention  of  San  Lorenzo.    That 


[55]  14 

Convention,  requiring-  a  direct  line  to  be  drawn  between  two  un- 
changed geographical  points,  does  not  seem  susceptible  of  controversy, 
and  were  the  subject  now.  for  the  first  time  agitated,  none  could  be 
anticipated.  But  a  difficulty  is  known  to  exist,  and  is  to  be  found  in 
a  peculiar  provision  of  the  before-mentioned  act  of  Congress,  of  the 
4th  of  May,  1826. 

The  motive  for  introducing  that  provision  is  perfectly  understood 
and  duly  respected:  it  was  intended  to  prevent  what  it  has  produced, 
delay  and  discussion.  The  provision  is,  that  the  line  to  be  so  run, 
(dividing  Florida  from  Georgia,)  and  marked,  shall  be  run  straight 
from  the  junction  of  said  rivers,  Chattahoochie  and  Flint,  to  the  point 
d<  signaled  as  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river,  by  the  Commissioners 
appointed  under  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of  friendship,  navi- 
gation. &c.  &c.  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  made  at  San 
Lorenzo.  &c.  &c.  This  provision  was  founded  on  the  belief  that  the 
point,  designated  as  the  head  of  St.  Mary's,  was  the  source  of  that 
river.  This  belief,  entertained  here  as  well  as  at  Washington,  recent 
and  accurate  examination  has  shown  to  be  unfounded.  The  evidence 
relied  on  by  the  State  on  this  point,  is  already  in  your  hands:  the 
chart  of  the  St.  Mary's,  prepared  by  Mr.  M'Bride,  and  his  report  of 
the  examination  made  by  him  for  the  source  or  head  of  that  river. 
The  supposition  on  which  the  proviso  in  the  act  of  Congress  was 
founded,  being  shown  to  be  erroneous,  no  disposition  can  exist  to  per- 
sist in  retaining  it.  to  the  injury  of  the  State,  unless  the  right  of  Con- 
gress to  insert  it  is  clearly  shown,  and  it  is  required  by  their  obliga- 
tions to  the  other  States.  If  Spain  were  now  the  party  interested,  it 
is  scarcely  possible,  that  in  utter  disregard  of  the  obligations  of  truth 
and  justice,  she  should  insist  that  the  line  should  be  run  and  marked 
to  the  point  designated  as  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,  by  the  Com- 
missioner appointed  under  the  3d  article  of  the  Convention  of  170.") : 
on  the  hypothesis  that  Spain  was  still  the  owner  of  the  Floridas.  and 
so  forgetful  of  honor  as  to  make  such  a  demand,  by  what  argument 
could  it  be  sustained  '.  It  would  be  asserted  that  the  acts  of  the  Com- 
missioners appointed  under  the  3d  article  had  become  a  part  of  the 
Convention,  and  was  as  obligatory  as  if  inserted  in  it.  This  assertion 
is  true  only  of  those  acts  of  the  Commissioners  which  they  were  au- 
thorized by  the  3d  article  to  perform.  They  were  authorized  to  run 
and  mark  a  line.  Has  it  been  done;!  It  has  not — more  than  150 
miles  of  the  line  is  yet  to  be  run  and  marked.  To  meet  this  state  of 
facts  it  might  be  asserted,  that  it  being  found  impracticable  to  run 
and  mark  the  line  at  that  time,  the  Commissioners  agreed  upon  the 
two  terminating  points,  and  described  in  their  plats  and  journals,  the 
direction  of  the  line  to  be  hereafter  run  and  marked,  and  that  the  head 
of  St.  Mary's  was  thus  agreed  to  be  within  a  certain  distance  of  a 
mound  raised.  Were  the  Commissioners  appointed  for  this  purpose  \ 
Certainly  not.  They  were  appointed  to  run  and  mark  a  line,  not  to 
establish'  the  points  between  which  the  line  should,  at  some  distant 
time,  be  run  and  marked.  By  what  authority  did  the  Commissioners 
exercise  this  power?  It  is  not  given  by  the  3d  article  of  the  treaty — 
no  agreement  made  by  them  is  binding  upon  either  of  the  powers 


15  [55] 

who  appointed  them,  unless  subsequently  ratified  by  both.  Such  an 
agreement  as  the  one  made,  was  nol  within  the  spirit  of  the  article, 
but  is  directly  contrary  to  it :  since  it  substitutes  an  artificial  object  as 
the  point  of  termination,  for  the  natural  one  fixed  on  in  the  Conven- 
tion: and  confessedly  changes  the  line.  The  extent  of  the  agreement 
is  stated  by  the  American  Commissioner,  Ellicott,  in  these  words: 
"  It  was  therefore  agreed  that  the  termination  of  a  line  supposed  to  be 
drawn  North  45  degrees,  East  640  perches  from  the  mound  B.  should 
he  taken  as  a  point,  to,  or  near  which,  a  line  should  be  drawn  from 
the  mouth  of  Flint  river;  which  line,  when  drawn,  should  be  final, 
and  considered  as  the  permanent  boundary  between  the  United  States 
and  his  Catholic  Majesty,  provided  it  passed  not  less  than  one  mile 
north  of  mound  B :  but  if.  on  experiment,  it  should  be  found  to  pass 
within  less  than  one  mile  north  of  the  said  mound,  it  should  be 
corrected  to  carry  it  to  that  distance."  No  remarks  on  the  peculiar 
character  of  the  line  described,  are  deemed  necessary.  The  passage 
is  quoted  to  show  that  Ellicott  transcended  his  authority,  and  did  v*  hat 
was  not  binding  on  his  government,  unless  subsequently  ratified  by  it. 
It  is  presumed  he  had  no  instructions  to  make  such  an  agreement ;  if 
he  had,  this  State  denies  that  the  Convention  of  1875  authorized 
them  to  be  given.  Was  this  agreement  ratified  by  the  two  powers 
prior  to  the  cession  of  Florida,  by  Spain,  to  the  United  States?  It  is 
taken  for  granted  that  it  was  not.  If  not,  the  question  remains  as  it 
did  under  the  Convention  of  1795.  The  stipulations  of  the  third  ar- 
ticle are  yet  to  be  performed,  and  the  points  to  which  the  line,  from 
the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie,  is  to  be  run,  is  to  be  de- 
termined by  referring  to  the  second  article  of  the  Convention,  not  by 
an  appeal  to  the  agreement  of  Ellicott.  It  is  a  geographical  point, 
unvarying  and  unvaried ;  not  the  creation  of  man's  labor — it  is  a  spot 
described  by  the  two  governments,  not  that  substituted  by  their  sub- 
ordinate unauthorized  agents.  The  agreement  of  Ellicott  was  not 
obligatory  even  upon  himself.  Prior  to  the  running  and  marking  the 
line,  had  anv  error,  geographical  or  astronomical,  been  made  by  acci- 
dent, it  was  in  the  power,  and  it  was  the  duty  of  the  Commissioners, 
to  correct  it  as  soon  as  it  was  discovered.  Can  it  be  pretended  that,  if 
Ellicott  had  discovered,  immediately  after  the  supposed  source  of  the 
St.  Mary's  was  agreed  upon,  that  the  spring  or  lake  from  whence 
issued  the  southern  branch  was  the  true  source  of  the  river,  he  was 
bound  to  abide  by  the  judgment  he  had  formed  on  imperfect  infor- 
mation, and  to  run  and  mark  the  line  contrary  to  the  provisions  of 
the  Convention,  to  the  injury  of  his  country?"  If  the  line  had  been 
completed  by  Ellicott,  under  the  mistaken  impression  entertained  by 
him  of  the  true  source  of  the  river,  and  the  mistake  had  been  clearly 
ascertained,  it  would  have  given  the  General  Government  great  satis- 
faction to  have  been  able  to  rectify,  by  a  negotiation  with  Spain, 
the  error  committed.  Called  upon  by  Georgia,  would  the  General 
Government  have  hesitated  to  represent  to  Spain  that  a  just  govern- 
ment would  best  consult  its  honor  and  its  interest  by  rectifying  with 
frankness  an  error  committed  by  its  inferior  officers?  Can  it  be 
doubted  that  the  United  States  would  have  seized,  with  avidity,  the 
43064— S.  Doc.  467,  60-1 2 


[55]  16 

first  occasion  to  oblige  Spain  to  surrender  to  Georgia  territory  held 
in  consequence  of  such  an  error  \  If  such  would  probably  have  been 
the  course  of  the  General  Government,  had  the  error  been  consum- 
mated by  the  running  and  marking  of  the  line,  I  leave  you  to  consider 
what  would  have  been  their  conduct  had  Spain,  remaining  owner  of 
the  territory,  obstinately  persisted  in  claiming  to  have  it  run  and 
marked  according  to  Ellicott's  agreement,  after  the  mistake  com- 
mitted by  him  had  been  discovered  and  exposed.  The  United  States, 
tracing  the  failure  to  complete  the  work  to  its  source,  might  have 
overwhelmed  Spain  by  justly  deserved  reproaches  for  disgracefully 
attempting  to  take  advantage  of  its  own  infidelity  to  sacred  engage- 
ments— by  indignant  recitals  of  the  intrigues  and  artifices  used,  the 
treachery  displayed,  from  the  meeting  of  the  Commissioners  at 
Natchez  until  Ellicott  was  driven  from  the  Chattahoochie.  I  shall  be 
pardoned  for  supposing  the  government  of  Spain  would  have  exposed 
itself  to  rebuke  by  advancing  such  claims.  The  possibility  has  been 
admitted  to  bring  fairly  into  view  the  peculiar  position  of  the 
United  States  in  relation  to  this  question.  The  Trustees  of  Georgia, 
who  arranged  the  Convention  of  San  Lorenzo,  are  the  holders,  by 
purchase,  of  the  title  of  Spain,  under  that  Convention.  In  this  their 
present  position,  their  former  relation  being  necessarily  remembered, 
no  pretention  can  be  consistently  made  by  the  United  States,  which 
would  have  been  disputed  if  made  by  Spain  while  the  Floridas  be- 
longed to  that  power.  No  claim  of  Georgia  which  the  United  States 
would  then  have  seriously  pressed  upon  Spain,  can  be  honorably 
resisted  by  the  United  States,  holding  the  property  as  a  cession  from 
that  power.  Above  all,  it  would  be  the  extremity  of  disgrace,  if  the 
Federal  Government  should  seek  to  take  advantage  of  an  error  com- 
mitteed  by  its  authority  while  acting  as  the  guardian  of  the  rights  of 
this  State,  when  Providence  has  placed  it  in  its  power  to  correct  the 
error  by  a  simple  exertion  of  its  own  will. 

The  accompanying  copy  of  an  Executive  Message  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  State,  and  of  an  act  passed  by  that  body,  are  for- 
warded that  they  may  be  presented,  with  the  documents  heretofore 
transmitted,  to  the  consideration  of  Congress,  whenever  you  shall 
deem  it  proper  to  bring  the  subject  of  the  boundary  line  between 
Florida  and  Georgia  before  them. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully. 

Your  obedient  servant. 
[Signed]  JOHX  FORSYTH. 

John  Q.  Adams, 

President  of  the   United  States. 


20th  Congress,  TRep.    No.    204.1  Ho.  of  Reps. 

1st  Fir  ss  inn  L  1  ■  *J 


1st  Session. 


DIVIDING   LINE   BETWEEN   GEORGIA   AND    FLORIDA. 

March  21,  1828. 

Read,  and  laid  upon  the  table. 


Mr.  P.  P.  Barbour,  from  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  to  which 
the  subject  had  been  referred,  made  the  following 

REPORT: 

The  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  to  which  was  referred  the  message 
of  the  President,  of  the  22d  of  January,  1828,  transmitting  copies  of 
communications  from  the  Governor  of  Georgia,  relating  to  the 
line  dividing  that  State  from  the  Territory  of  Florida,  report: 

The  correspondence  between  the  President  and  the  Governor  of 
Georgia,  thus  referred  to  the  committee,  presents  the  question,  What 
is  the  correct  boundary  between  that  State  and  the  Territory  of  Flor- 
ida? To  enable  the  House  to  decide  this  question,  the  committee 
beg  leave  to  present  to  their  consideration,  a  condensed  view  of  the 
evidence  in  relation  to  it. 

The  charter  of  Carolina  to  the  lords  proprietors,  in  1G63,  extended 
southwardly  to  the  river  Matheo,  now  called  St.  John's,  supposed,  in 
the  charter,  to  be  in  latitude  31°,  and  so  west,  in  a  direct  line,  as 
far  as  the  South  Sea. 

It  appears,  by  an  extract  from  the  charter  of  Georgia,  in  1732,  that 
the  boundaries  were  "  all  those  lands,  countries,  and  territories,  situ- 
ate, lying,  and  being,  in  that  part  of  South  Carolina,  in  America, 
which  lies  from  the  northern  stream  of  a  river,  commonly  called  the 
Savannah,  all  along  the  sea  coast  to  the  southward,  unto  the  most 
southern  stream  of  a  certain  other  great  water  or  river,  called  the 
Alatamaha,  and  westward  from  the  heads  of  the  said  rivers,  respec- 
tively, in  a  direct  line,  to  the  South  Seas."  Before  the  date  of  this 
charter  to  Georgia,  by  a  second  charter  to  Carolina,  in  1667,  its  lim- 
its had  been  extended  south  and  westward,  as  far  as  the  degree  of 
twenty-nine,  inclusive,  of  northern  latitude.  The  Government  of 
Carolina,  having  been,  in  its  origin,  a  proprietary  one,  was,  in  1729, 
surrendered  by  seven  out  of  eight  of  the  proprietors,  and  afterwards 
by  the  eighth,  and  then  became  a  regal  one;  and  the  province  was 
divided  into  the  two  Governments  of  North  and  South  Carolina. 
The  order  of  Council  making  this  division,  and  fixing  the  bounda- 
ries, is  not  accessible  to  the  committee,  nor  is  it  deemed  material. 

The  trustees  of  Georgia,  in  1752,  surrendered  the  whole  territory 
to  the  King,  and  the  government  was  afterwards  entirely  regal. 


2  [Rep.  No.  204.] 

The  King,  by  a  proclamation  of  the  7th  October.  1763,  annexed 
to  the  Province  of  Georgia,  all  the  lands  lying  between  the  rivers 
Alatamaha  and  St.  Mary's,  and.  by  his  commission  to  Governor 
Wright,  of  the  20th  January.  1764.  declares  the  boundaries  to  be  on 
the  north  by  the  most  northern  stream  of  a  river,  there  commonly 
called  Savannah,  as  far  as  the  head  of  said  river,  and  from  thence, 
westward,  as  far  as  our  territories  extend :  on  the  east  by  the  sea 
coast,  from  said  river  Savannah,  to  the  most  southern  stream  of  a 
certain  other  river,  called  St.  Mary,  including  all  islands  within 
twenty  leagues  of  the  coast,  lying  between  the  rivers  Savannah  and 
St.  Mary,  as  far  as  the  head  thereof:  and  from  thence,  westward,  as 
far  as  our  territories  extend,  by  the  north  boundary  line  of  our 
Provinces  of  East  and  West  Florida. 

By  the  treaty  of  peace,  in  1783,  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States  is  thus  de- 
scribed :  "  South  by  a  line  to  be  drawn  due  east  from  the  determina- 
tion of  the  line  last  mentioned,  in  the  latitude  of  thirty-one  degrees 
north  of  the  equator,  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola  or  Cata- 
houchee;  thence,  along  the  middle  thereof,  to  its  junction  with  the 
Flint  river;  thence,  straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river;  and 
thence,  down  along  the  middle  of  St.  Mary's  river,  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean." 

By  the  proclamation  of  1763.  before  referred  to,  the  King  had  de- 
clared that  part  of  the  northern  boundary  of  East  Florida,  which  is 
now  the  subject  of  inquiry,  to  be  as  follows,  viz:  To  the  northward, 
by  a  line  drawn  from  that  part  of  said  river  (Apalachicola)  where 
the  Catahouchee  and  Flint  rivers  meet,  to  the  source  of  St.  Mary's, 
and.  by  the  course  of  the  said  river,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Spain 
having  obtained  from  Great  Britain  a  cession  of  the  Floridas,  with- 
out, as  is  believed,  any  description  of  limits.,  but  with  a  knowledge 
of  the  provisional  treaty  of  November,  1782,  and  under  what  were 
the  boundaries  of  those  provinces  in  the  hands  of  Great  Britain,  some 
difficulty  arose  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  in  relation  to 
this  boundary,  which  led  to  the  treaty  of  27th  October,  1795,  com- 
monly called  the  treaty  of  San  Lorenzo  el  Real ;  by  the  second  article 
of  which,  it  was  agreed,  that  the  boundary  line  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Floridas,  shall  be  designated  by  a  line,  beginning  on 
the  river  Mississippi,  at  the  northernmost  part  of  the  31st  degree  of 
latitude  north  of  the  equator,  which  from  thence  shall  be  drawn  due 
east  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola  or  Catahouchee ;  thence 
along  the  middle  thereof,  to  its  junction  with  the  Flint;  thence, 
straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river ;  and  thence,  down  the  middle 
thereof,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

It  was  provided  by  the  3d  article  of  that  treaty,  that  a  commis- 
sioner and  surveyor,  to  be  appointed  by  each  of  the  contracting  par- 
ties, should  run  and  mark  the  boundary,  according  to  the  stipulations 
of  the  2d  article,  above  recited.  It  was  further  stipulated,  that  they 
should  make  plats,  and  keep  journals  of  their  proceedings,  which 
should  be  considered  as  part  of  the  convention,  and  have  the  same 
force  as  if  they  were  inserted  therein.     In  conformity  with  this  stipu- 


[Rep.  .\To.  204.]  3 

lation,  Andrew  Ellicot  was  appointed  commissioner,  and  Thomas 
Freeman  surveyor,  on  the  part  of  the  United  Stales,  for  the  purpose 
of  running  the  line  mentioned  in  the  2d  article.  This  appointment 
was  made  in  May,  1796 :  it  appears  from  a  letter  of  the  commissioner, 
dated  22d  March,  1800.  to  the  then  Secretary  of  State,  that  a  report 
of  what  had  been  done,  would  soon  be  completed;  but  that  report,  if 
made,  is  not  now,  as  far  as  the  committee  are  informed,  to  be  found. 
It  appears  from  the  same  letter,  that  our  commissioner  experienced 
great  difficulty  and  embarrasmenl  in  the  execution  of  the  duty  as- 
signed to  him,  from  the  Indians,  and  he  intimates  at  the  instigation 
of  others.  The  journal  of  Ellicot  was  published  in  L803.  It  ap- 
pears that  the  commissioners  did  not  run  and  mark  the  line  from  the 
junction  of  Catahouchee  and  Flint  rivers,  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's; 
but  they  designated  a  point,  which  should  be  taken  as  the  one,  to  or 
near  which  a  line  should  be  drawn  from  Flint  river,  which,  when 
drawn,  was  to  be  final;  provided,  it  passed  not  less  than  one  mile 
north  of  a  certain  mound,  erected  by  them;  but  if,  on  experiment,  it 
should  be  found  to  pass  within  less  than  a  mile  north  of  said  mound, 
it  should  be  corrected  to  carry  it  to  that  distance.  This  mound  is  near 
the  Okefenoke  Swamp.  It  appears  from  a  report  of  John  Mc- 
Bride/a  surveyor,  appointed  by  Georgia,  in  the  year  1827,  that  there 
is  a  stream,  called  by  him  the  South  Branch  of  the  St.  Mary's,  much 
farther  south  than  the  one  considered  the  head  branch  of  that  river, 
by  the  American  and  Spanish  Commissioners;  and  he  says,  that  both 
its  length,  its  volume  of  water,  and  general  direction,  coincide  in 
favor  of  the  South  Branch.  It  appears,  by  a  document  referred  to 
as  part  of  this  report,  marked  A,  that,  under  a  resolution  of  the 
Senate  of  Georgia,  in  1818,  the  Governor  of  that  State  appointed 
commissioners  to  examine  and  report  whether  Ellicot's  mound  was 
the  true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's ;  and  from  the  letter  of  the  Governor, 
in  1819,  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  it  appears,  that  the  commissioners 
had  reported,  that,  after  a  careful  examination,  they  found  the  head 
of  St.  Mary's  to  agree  with  the  report  made  by  Mr.  Ellicot.  Two 
of  the  commissioners,  in  a  paper  referred  to  as  part  of  this  report, 
marked  B.,  think  it  probable  that  they  may  have  been  misled  b}?-  their 
guide — assigning  as  the  reasons  of  that  impression:  1st,  that  they 
recollect  to  have  seen  what  appeared  to  them,  through  thick  brush 
wood,  to  be  a  lively  little  stream,  emptying  in  through  the  opposite 
or  right  bank  of  the  southern  or  middle  fork  of  the  St.  Mary's;  which, 
being  pointed  out  to  the  pilot,  he  replied,  that  the  branch  they  were 
pursuing  was  the  right  one ;  and,  2d,  by  the  representation  given  by 
the  survey  of  McBride.  After  this  review  of  the  evidence,  it  will 
be  seen  by  the  House,  that  the  question  is,  What  is  the  head,  or  source 
of  the  St.  Mary's?  for  the  other  end  of  the  line,  to  wit:  the  junction 
of  the  Catahouchee  and  Flint  rivers,  being  uncontested,  so  soon  as 
the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  is  ascertained,  all  difficulty  ceases  as  to 
the  boundary.  The  committee,  are  of  opinion,  upon  the  whole  view 
of  the  case,  that  the  point  designated  by  the  American  and  Spanish 
commissioners,  ought  to  be  considered  as  the  head  of  St.  Mary's. 


4  [Rep.  No.  204.] 

They  consider  the  solution  of  the  question  to  depend  on  this,  which 
stream  is  to  be  considered  the  true  St.  Mary's  river,  according  to 
reputation,  and  the  understanding  and  acquiescence  of  the  parties 
concerned.  As  far  back  as  1800,  the  commissioners  of  the  two  Gov- 
ernments considered,  upon  examination,  what  is  now  called  the 
North  Branch,  as  the  St.  Mary's ;  and  the  Georgia  commissioners,  in 
1819,  concur  with  Mr.  EllicoC  as  to  the  head  of  that  river ;  although 
another  river  unites  with  this,  which  vents  more  water,  and  is  longer, 
yet,  if  it  were  not  called,  or  known  by  the  name  of  St.  Mary's,  these 
circumstances  would  not  alter  the  case.  The  committee  infer,  that 
it  was  not  so  called,  or  known,  from  these  circumstances;  1st,  that 
the  commissioners  of  two  Governments  were  appointed  to  settle 
and  decide  a  contested  question  of  boundary :  to  do  this,  the  head 
of  the  St.  Mary's  being  one  of  the  termini,  it  became  their  duty  to 
seek  for  information  from  every  source,  accessible  to  them,  as  to 
which  stream  was  the  St.  Mary's,  and  what  was  its  head.  Having 
fixed  upon  a  particular  stream,  as  being  the  true  river,  and  designated 
a  point  as  its  source,  and  this  being  matter  of  notoriety,  Georgia 
acquiesced,  without  objection,  as  far  as  the  committee  are  informed, 
till  1818;  and  then  the  report  of  their  own  commissioners  coincided 
with  Ellicot's  designation,  and  that.  too.  though  they  had  as  their 
pilot,  as  the  committee  believe,  the  very  person  on  whose  suggestion 
they  had  been  appointed.  In  this  report.  Georgia  acquiesced,  as  far 
as  the  committee  is  informed,  until  recently.  As  far  as  the  nature 
of  this  unsettled  country  will  admit  of  reputation  as  to  the  names 
of  its  streams,  these  facts  may  be  considered  as  probably  the  best 
evidence  which  was  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  the  head  of  that  river, 
as  intended  in  the  several  State  papers  above  recited.  There  is  an  ex- 
ample mentioned  in  one  of  the  printed  documents,  which  will  illus- 
trate the  idea  of  the  committee.  It  is  now  believed  to  be  a  geo- 
graphical fact,  that  the  Missouri  is  a  longer  stream  than  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  we  believe  vents  more  water:  and  yet,  as  it  never  has  been 
called  by  the  name  of  Mississippi,  if  we  were  now  called  upon  to 
decide  what  was  the  head  of  the  Mississippi,  we  should  take,  not  the 
source  of  the  Missouri,  though  it  unites  with  the  other  stream,  but 
the  source  of  what  is,  and  has  been  called  the  Mississippi.  It  is  not 
intended  to  say  that  the  case  in  question  is  as  palpable:  but,  after 
settling  the  principal,  that,  in  ascertaining  the  head  of  a  stream  of  a 
given  name,  we  must  inquire  where  two  streams  unite,  not  which 
is  the  longest,  or  vents  the  most  water,  but  which  has  been  called  and 
known  by  the  given  name,  we  are  then  to  decide,  upon  the  best  evi- 
dence in  our  power,  as  to  that  fact ;  and  we  think  the  evidence  is  in 
favor  of  the  stream  designated  by  Ellicot. 

Resolved,  therefore,  as  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  that,  in 
running  the  boundary  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida,  the  point 
designated  by  the  Commissioners  under  the  3d  article  of  the  treaty 
of  1795.  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  ought  to  be  the  ter- 
mination of  the  line  from  the  junction  of  the  Catahouchee  and  Flint 
rivers. 


[Rep.  No.  204.] 

(A.) 


Resolved*  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  be  requested  to  appoint 
two  fit  and  proper  persons,  to  proceed,  without  delay,  to  ascertain  the 
true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river:  and,  if  it  shall  appear  that  the 
mound  thrown  up  by  Mr.  Ellicot  and  the  Spanish  Deputation,  is  not 
at  the  place  set  forth  in  the  treaty  with  Spain,  that  they  make  a  spe- 
cial report  of  the  facts  to  the  Governor,  who  shall  thereupon  commu- 
nicate the  same  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  accompanied 
with  a  request  that  the  lines  may  be  run  agreeable  to  the  true  intent 
and  meaning  of  the  aforesaid  treaty. 

And  it  is  further  resolved.  That  the  Governor  order  out  a  suitable 
detachment  of  militia  to  protect  the  said  Commissioners  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  duty. 

Approved:  19/7<  December,  1819. 


Executive  Department,  Georgia, 
MUledgeville,  11th  February,  1819. 

Sir:  I  take  the  liberty  to  call  your  attention  to  the  subject  of 
the  contemplated  line  between  this  State  and  the  Province  of  East 
Florida,  which  you  no  doubt  recollect  is  expected  to  be  run  this  Spring 
by  the  General  Government. 

Preparations  are  making  to  commence  surveying  that  section  of 
country  in  a  short  time :  it  is.  therefore,  very  desirable  that  the  line 
should  be  defined  as  early  as  possible. 

The  Legislature  of  this  State,  at  their  late  session,  having  received 
satisfactoiy  information  that  the  mound  thrown  up  by  Mr.  Ellicot 
and  the  Spanish  Deputation,  on  the  Okefinocau  Swamp,  is  not  the 
true  head  of  St.  Mary's  river,  as  contemplated  in  the  treaty  with 
Spain,  directed  me  to  appoint  Commissioners  to  ascertain  the  fact, 
and  to  communicate  the  result  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
with  a  request  that  the  line  might  be  laid  out  agreeably  to  their  re- 
port. Majors  General  Floyd  and  Thompson,  and  Brigadier  General 
Blackshear,  have  been  appointed  to.  and  are  now  engaged  in,  the  per- 
formance of  that  duty.  Their  report  shall  be  transmitted  to  you  as 
soon  as  I  receive  it. 

I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  head  of  that  river  will  be 
found  at  least  twenty  miles  south  of  the  point  agreed  on  by  Mr.  Eli- 
cot  and  the  Spanish  Commissioners.  Should  this  conjecture  prove  to 
be  a  fact,  the  State  of  Georgia,  will  be  entitled  to  the  land  within  that 
boundaiy.  according  to  the  treaty  with  Spain.  In  any  event,  it  is  of 
great  importance  that  one  of  those  lines  should  be  completed  as  soon 
as  circumstances  will  justify  the  measure. 

Enclosed  I  hand  you  a  resolution  of  the  Legislature  on  the  subject. 
With  high  respect.  I  am.  sir,  your  obedient  servant. 

WM.  RABUN. 
The  Hon.  John  C.  Calhot  x. 

Secretary  of  War,  Washington  City. 


6  [Rep.  No.  204.] 

Executive  Department.  Georgia, 

MUledgevUle,  3d  March,  1819. 
Sir:  On  the  17th  ultimo.  I  had  the  honor  to  address  you  on  the 
subject  of  the  contemplated  line  between  this  State  and  the  Province 
of  East  Florida.  I  stated  that  the  Legislature  of  this  State  had  di- 
rected me  to  appoint  Commissioners  to  ascertain  the  true  head  or 
source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  I  promised  to  forward  their  report 
to  you  as  soon  as  the  same  was  received.  The  Commissioners  have 
returned,  and  reported,  that,  after  a  careful  examination,  they  found 
the  head  of  that  river  to  agree  with  the  report  made  by  Mr.  Ellicot, 
and  prove,  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  that  the  information  re- 
ceived by  the  Legislature  of  this  State  relative  to  that  subject  was 
incorrect.  I  flatter  myself  that  directions  will  be  forwarded  to  Mr. 
Lumpkin  immediately  to  close  that  line,  according  to  the  treaty  with 
Spain.  And,  if  the  General  Government  can  afford  us  assistance  in 
guarding  the  Surveyors  who  will  be  engaged  in  laying  out  the 
country,  it  will  be  acknowledged  as  a  great  accommodation. 
I  am.  with  high  respect. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  RABUN. 
Hon.  J.  C.  Calhoux, 

Secretary  of  War. 


(B.) 


In  the  year  1817.  Captain  William  Cone,  then  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  of  Georgia,  represented,  on  his  own  knowledge  of  the 
St.  Mary's  river,  that  Mr.  Ellicot  had  mistaken  its  true  head  or 
source;  and  that  an  accurate  survey  would  establish  the  fact,  that  the 
head  or  source  of  the  middle  fork  or  branch,  (perhaps  then  called 
the  South  Branch)  which  was  twenty  miles  south  of  Mr.  Ellicot's 
Mound,  would  be  found  to  be  the  true  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river, 
and  therefore  the  true  point  of  clemarkation  between  the  State  of 
Georgia  and  the  then  Spanish  province  of  East  Florida.  The  Gov- 
ernor of  Georgia  was  authorized,  by  the  Legislature,  to  appoint  Com- 
missioners to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  facts  alleged  by  Captain 
Cone.  The  undersigned,  with  Brigadier  General  David  Blackshear, 
were  appointed  and  especially  instructed  by  the  Governor  of  Georgia. 
They  employed  Captain  Cone  as  a  pilot,  and,  with  a  competent  sur- 
veyor, caused  to  be  measured  (beginning  at  or  near  the  point  desig- 
nated by  Ellicot  as  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river)  the  distance  from 
that  point,  by  the  meanders  of  the  northwest  branch,  t  oits  junction 
with  the  stream  or  branch  represented  by  Cone  to  be  the  true  source  of 
the  St.  Mary's,  and  up  the  left  bank  of  the  latter  branch,  until  the 
Commissioners  reached  an  extensive  swamp,  into  which  the  pilot,  with 
tfao  of  the  Commissioners  (the  undersigned)  penetrated  about  half  a 


[Rep.  No.  204.1  7 

mile,  and  saw  no  water  or  water  channel.  Capt.  Cone  was  then  di- 
rected by  the  Commissioners  to  pass  entirely  across  the  swamp,  (to  the 
pine  barren  beyond  the  swamp,)  who.  on  his  return,  reported  that 
there  was  no  stream  of  water  or  water  channel  in  t he  swamp;  and  that 
we  had  reached  the  head  of  the  branch  to  which  he  had  referred  in  the 
information  given  by  him  to  the  Legislature.  On  a  comparison  of 
the  length  of  two  streams,  it  was  found  that  the  latter,  from  its 
junction  with  the  other  to  the  swamp  above  referred  to,  was  much 
the  shortest;  and  the  Commissioners  consequently  reported  in  favor 
of  the  former  as  the  head  or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river. 

It  is,  however,  more  than  probable  that  the  Commissioners  may 
have  been  misled  by  the  inadvertency  of  Captain  Cone,  who  professed 
to  be  intimately  acquainted  with  the  geography  of  that  part  of  the 
country,  and  on  whom  they  were  instructed  to  rely,  who  may  have 
been  diverted  from  the  principal  stream,  by  mistaking  a  branch  of  it. 
And  we  the  undersigned  are  inclined  to  this  belief;  first,  because  we 
recollected  to  have  seen,  a  short  distance  below  the  swamp  to  which 
we  have  referred,  what  appeared  to  us,  through  thick  brushwood,  to 
be  a  lively  little  stream,  emptying  in  through  the  opposite  or  right 
bank  of  the  southern  or  middle  fork  of  the  St.  Mary's,  which  was 
pointed  out  to  the  pilot;  who  replied,  that  the  branch  we  were  then 
pursuing  was  the  right  one ;  and  because  of  the  representation  given 
by  the  survey  of  McBride. 

JOHN  FLOYD, 
WILEY  THOMPSON. 

Febmary  29th,  1828. 


20th  Congress,  TDOO      No     50  1  Ho.  of  Repb. 

2d  Session.  L  •  •         »J 

DIVIDING  LINE— GEORGIA  AND  FLORIDA. 


REPORT   TO.   AND    RESOLUTION    OF, 

THE 

LEGISLATURE       OF       THE       STATE       OF       GEORGIA, 

IN   RELATION    TO 

RUNNING  AND  FIXING  THE  BOUNDARY  LINE 

BETWEEN 

THE   SAID   STATE  AND   THE   TERRITORY   OF   FLORIDA. 


January  5,  1829. — Read,  and  referred  to  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  House 
to  which  is  committed  the  Message  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
of  the  3d  of  March  last,  upon  the  same  subject. 


Executive  Department.  Georgia, 

December  26,  1828. 
Gentlemen  :  I  transmit  the  enclosed  report  and  resolutions,  agree- 
ably to  the  wishes  of  the  General  Assembly. 

I  am.  gentlemen,  vour  obedient  servant. 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 
The  Hon.  the  Representatives  from  Georgia 

in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  Washington  City. 


REPORT,  &o. 

The  Joint  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Republic,  to  whom  was  re- 
ferred  that  part  of  the  Governor's  communication  which  relates  to 
the  dividing  line  between  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida, 
have  had  the  same  under  consideration,  together  with  the  accom- 
panying  documents,  and.  after  an  attentive  examination  of  the 
subject,  report: 

That  the  Executive,  conformably  to  a  resolution  of  the  last  session, 
caused  the  report  then  made  to  be  laid  before  Congress,  and,  in 
further  compliance  with  the  request  of  the  Legislature,  opened  a 
correspondence  with  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  which  the 
claims  of  Georgia  to  her  legitimate  and  constitutional  boundary  were 
zealously  and  ably  asserted.  The  report  made  to  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  by  the  judiciary  committee,  recommended  the  post- 
ponement of  the  subject  until  the  ensuing  session.  That  to  the  House 
of  Representatives  was  drawn  to  a  more  definite  conclusion,  by  re- 
solving, "  as  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  that,  in  running  the  bound- 


2  [Doc.  No.  50.] 

ary  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida,  the  point  designated  by  the 
commissioners  under  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of  1795,  between 
the  United  States  and  Spain,  ought  to  be  the  termination  of  the  line 
from  the  junction  of  the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers."'  This  re- 
port was  not  acted  upon;  the  subject,  consequently,  is  yet  to  be  dis- 
cussed and  decided.  Your  Committee,  reposing  full  confidence  in 
the  General  Government,  and  deeply  sensible  of  the  inviolability  of 
Georgia's  claim,  cannot  but  express  their  disappointment  that  the 
committee  should,  upon  the  evidence  before  it,  have  hesitated  to 
recommend  the  repeal  of  the  act  of  Congress  of  1826,  or  such  a  modi- 
fication of  it  as  would  have  enabled  the  President  to  empower  com- 
missioners, in  conjunction  with  this  Government,  to  run  and  mark 
the  line  agreeably  to  the  rights  of  the  parties ;  and  still  more  are  they 
surprised  that  reasons  should  have  been  sought  after,  and  arguments 
employed,  on  which  no  just  inference  against  our  claim  can  be 
sustained.  The  whole  argument  used  by  the  committee  charged  with 
this  matter,  has  for  its  foundation,  and  arises  out  of,  the  mistake  of 
Mr.  Ellicott,  and  the  Spanish  commissioner,  in  designating  the  north 
branch  as  the  true  source  of  the  St.  Mary's.  This  mistake  is  the 
key-stone  of  the  whole  arch ;  it  is  from  this  that  they  say  the  north 
prong  was  called  St.  Marys',  and  ought  to  be  so  considered;  it  is  this 
that  led  them  into  the  error  of  declaring  that  the  commissioners  of 
the  two  Governments  were  appointed  to  settle  and  decide  a  contested 
question  of  boundary;  and  because  this  mistake  was  not  detected 
before  the  line  was  about  to  be  run.  the  acquiescence  of  Georgia  is 
presumed,  and  urged  as  an  argument  against  her  claim. 

It  is  a  fact  admitted  by  all  parties,  and  which  forms  the  very  es- 
sence of  this  controversy,  that  the  line  between  the  Chattahoochie 
and  Flint  rivers,  and  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river,  was  neither  traced 
nor  marked  by  the  commissioners  appointed  under  the  third  article 
of  the  treaty  with  Spain.  From  that  article  they  derived  their 
powers,  and  by  a  reference  to  it,  it  will  appear  that  they  were  not 
plenipotentiaries,  but' merely  ministerial  agents,  acting  under  orders, 
to  run  and  mark  the  line  according  to  the  stipulations  of  the  2d 
article  of  the  treaty,  which  is  in  the  following  words :  "  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  United  States,  which  divides  their  territory  from  the 
Spanish  Colonies  of  East  and  West  Florida,  shall  be  designated  by 
a  line  beginning  on  the  river  Mississippi,  at  the  northernmost  part 
of  the  31st  degree  of  latitude  north  of  the  equator,  which  from  thence 
shall  be  drawn  due  east  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola  or 
Chattahoochie ;  thence,  along  the  middle  thereof,  to  its  junction  with 
the  Flint;  thence  straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river;  and  thence, 
down  the  middle  thereof,  to  the  Atlantic  ocean."  From  the  Missis- 
sippi to  the  Chattahoochie.  they  executed  their  commission  according 
to  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty.  The  remaining  part  of  the  duty 
assigned  them  they  neglected  to  perform;  and  whatever  agreement 
they  may  have  made  by  virtue  of  the  powers  invested  in  the  third 
article  cannot  be  reasonably  insisted  upon  as  authority  for  varying  the 
true  line,  as  the  article,  in  its  most  enlarged  construction,  does  not 
extend  so  far  as  to  justify  the  running  of  the  line  in  any  other  direc- 
tion, or  from  and  to  any  other  points,  than  those  designated  in  the 
2d  article.  The  point  of  departure  and  the  terminating  point  are 
both  fixed  by  the  2d  article;  and  it  is  provided  in  the  3d,  specially, 
that  the  commissioners  should  run  and  mark  from  and  to  those  points. 


[Doc.  No.  50.]  3 

The  point-  referred  to  arc  from  the  junction  of  the  Chattahoochie 

and  Flint  rivers  to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  not  to  mound 
A  or  mound  B,  or  to  any  other  indefinite  place,  to  be  fixed  upon  at 
the  commissioner's  discretion.  As  the  proceedings  of  those  commis- 
sioners present  the  only  difficulty,  your  Committee  beg  Leave  to  cite 
the  whole  article  under  which  they  acted,  to  wit  :  "  In  order  to  carry 
the  preceding  article  into  effect,  one  commissioner  and  one  surveyor 
shall  be  appointed  by  each  of  the  contracting  parties,  who  shall  meet 
at  the  Natches,  on  the  left  side  of  the  river  Mississippi,  before  the 
expiration  of  six  months  from  the  ratification  of  this  convention; 
and  they  shall  proceed  to  run  and  mark  this  boundary  according  to 
the  stipulations  of  said  article;  they  shall  make  plats,  and  keep 
journals  of  their  proceedings,  which  shall  be  considered  as  pari  ojE 
this  convention,  and  shall  have  the  same  force  as  if  they  were  inserted 
therein. "  It  is  charitable  to  presume  that  the  judiciary  committee 
did  not  examine  minutely  the  provisions  of  this  article,  or  they  would 
not  have  exposed  their  judgment  to  impeachment  by  asserting  that 
"  the  commissioners  of  the  two  Governments  were  oppointed  to  s<  tile 
and  decide  a  contested  question  of  boundary." 

There  is  no  discretion  conferred  in  this  article.  If  their  plats  and 
journals  were  to  have  the  same  force  as  the  convention,  they  were 
nevertheless  obliged  to  be  in  accordance  with  its  stipulation.  If. 
therefore.  Mr.  Ellicott  agreed,  as  is  insisted  upon,  that  one  mile 
north  of  mound  B  should  be  as  far  south  as  the  line,  when  run,  should 
approach,  it  is  very  palpable  that  he  exceeded  his  authority,  even 
though  he  may  have  made  a  plat  of  mound  B,  and  journalized  the 
agreement.  He  was  not  sent  there  to  make  an  agreement  defining 
a  point  to  which  the  line  should  be  run  at  some  future  timer  but  to 
run  and  mark  the  line  between  points  already  described.  If  perT 
mitted  to  vary  the  stipulation  of  the  treaty,  he  could,  with  as  much 
propriety  and  equal  justice,  have  fixed  upon  a  point  fifty  miles  fur- 
ther in  the  interior  of  Georgia.  The  question  is,  did  the  Spanish 
and  American  commissioners  run  and  mark  the  line  from  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers  to  the  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  river,  as  thej'  were  directed  to  do?  No:  they  ran  no  line 
at  all  between  those  points!  What  did  they  do?  They  agreed  that 
the  line  should  be  run  at  some  future  time,  and  by  some  other  per- 
sons, to  a  certain  other  point,  different  from  that  fixed  by  the 
treaty  !  !  !  The  committee  who  have  claimed  this  extraordinary 
power  for  the  commissioners,  place  themselves  in  an  inextricable 
dilemma,  as  they  not  only  consider  themselves  authorized  to  over- 
turn the  treaty  they  were  appointed  to  carry  into  effect,  but  like- 
wise assume  for  them  the  right  to  bargain  away  the  soil  and  sov- 
ereignty of  a  sovereign  State,  who  could  not,  under  her  obligations 
to  the  Union,  interfere  in  settling  the  boundaries  of  the  United 
States,  though  on  that  line  of  it  she  was  more  immediately  con- 
cerned than  all  her  sister  States  together.  So  far  from  those  com- 
missioners being  justified  in  the  exercise  of  the  power  which  they 
arrogated,  your  Committee,  next  to  the  loss  of  the  liberties  of  their 
own  State,  would  regret  to  see  the  time  when  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  should  become  so  forgetful  of  the  limitation-  of 
her  prerogatives,  as  to  assume  the  power  of  ratifying  a  treaty  with 
any  foreign  nation,  by  which  the  least  portion  of  the  soil  of  a  State 
should  be  taken  from  her  without  her  consent. 


4  [Doc.  No.  50.] 

The  United  States  is  bound  by  the  Constitution  to  protect  us  from 
invasion.  Upon  the  supposition,  then,  that  the  line  had  been  run  and 
marked  agreeably  to  the  report  of  the  Spanish  Commissioners,  and 
had  been  sanctioned  by  the  Government,  by  a  ratification  of  the 
treaty,  it  would  have  imposed  upon  her  the  disagreeable  alternative 
of  breaking  the  treaty  with  Spain,  or  abandoning  her  obligations 
to  the  confederacy.  If  Florida  were  yet  a  Spanish  province,  Geor- 
gia would  have  a  right  to  require  the  United  States  to  perform  her 
sacred  engagements,  by  driving  from  our  soil  the  Spaniard  who 
invaded  it.  "  To  provide  for  the  common  defence"  is  one  of  the 
principal  objects  of  our  political  association;  and  could  the  United 
States  humiliate  themselves  upon  our  application  to  have  our  soil 
and  our  sovereignty  restored  to  us,  by  pleading  that  they  had  ceded 
it  to  Spain,  and  therefore  could  not  interfere,  such  a  disregard  of 
her  obligations  would  be  productive  of  the  worst  of  consequences, 
as  it  would  destroy  all  confidence  in  the  protection  of  the  Constitu- 
tion. It  is  not  expected,  now  that  the  Federal  Government  is  the 
proprietor  of  Florida,  that  it  can  be  unmindful  of  the  declaration 
in  the  Constitution,  that  "no  new  State  shall  be  formed  or  erected 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other  State,  nor  any  State  be  formed 
by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States,  or  parts  of  States,  without 
the  consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  concerned."  Has  the 
Legislature  of  Georgia  ever  given  her  assent,  in  any  manner,  that 
that  portion  of  the  State  should  be  detached  and  set  apart  to  assist 
in  the  formation  of  another  State?  The  foregoing  allusion  to  the 
obligations  of  the  General  Government  to  the  States,  we  have 
thought  it  advisable  to  make,  because  it  does  not  appear,  from  the 
report. made  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  that  the  committee 
themselves  consider  Ellicott's  mound  to  be  the  head  of  St.  Mary's; 
but  they  say  it  "  ought  to  be  so  considered,  because  Ellicott  and  the 
Spanish  Commissioners  agreed  that  it  should  be  so,  and  that  the 
Georgia  Commissioners,  in  1819,  concurred  in  the  designation;  from 
which  circumstances  it  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  head  of  St. 
Mary's;  and  because  of  that  reputation,  it  should  be  considered  the 
true*  head  or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's."  This,  though  not  precisely 
their  language,  is  the  amount  of  their  argument.  Your  Committee, 
conceiving  that  they  have  most  conclusively  proven  the  American 
and  Spanish  Commissioners  to  have  acted  extra-officially  in  making 
mounds  and  agreements  not  provided  for  by  the  Treaty,  any  repu- 
tation of  names  inferred  from  those  acts  is  too  vague  to  require 
serious  examination. 

In  regard  to  the  acquiescence  of  Georgia,  the  facts  cited  in  the 
report  to  Congress  prove  that  the  authorities  of  the  State  were  de- 
ceived. If  Georgia  had  considered  the  act  of  the  United  States 
and  Spain  as  decisive  and  final,  she  would  not  have  deputed  com- 
missioners to  have  made  an  examination.  The  very  deputation 
shows  that  she  conceived,  as  must  be  admitted,  that  she  had  a  right 
to  be  heard  in  settling  her  own  boundary.  She  did  not,  though, 
send  those  Commissioners  to  make  a  final  settlement  of  her  bound- 
ary. She  could  only  confer  such  power  when  the  United  States  was 
ready  to  join  her  in  the  commission.  They  were  sent  merely  upon 
an  exploring  tour,  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  State,  on  a  disputed 
point.  The  United  States  were  under  no  obligation  to  abide  by 
the  opinion  formed.     How,  then,  can  the  United  States,  upon  any 


[Doc.  No.  50.]  5 

principle  of  reciprocity,  contend  that  Georgia  should  be  forestalled 
by  an  opinion  as  to  an  isolated  fact,  to  which  they  held  themselves 
free  to  agree  or  disagree?  The  acquiescence  of  Georgia,  in  the  ex- 
tent to  which  it  has  been  given,  only  proves  that  she  was  then,  as 
she  is  now,  and  ever  will  be,  while  she  respects  the  rights  of  others 
as  she  does  her  own,  willing  to  be  governed  in  the  running  of  that 
line  by  the  true  points.  She  desired,  then,  no  more  than  she  be- 
lieved to  be  her  right ;  and  from  the  evidence  then  in  her  posses- 
sion, she  supposed  tin1  point  fixed  upon  by  Ellicott  was  the  true 
point.  She  contends  now  for  no  more  than  later  developments  in- 
contestibly  prove  to  be  her  own. 

Your  Committee  feel  authorized  by  the  facts  to  deny  that  Georgia 
has  ever  acquiesced  so  far  as  to  agree  that  the  line  should  be  run  to 
Ellicott's  mound;  there  has  been  no  definite  act  of  the  State,  by 
which  the  matter  has  been  settled,  or  considered  settled,  by  either 
party.  It  is  true,  her  Commissioners  believed  that  the  mound  was  at 
the  source  of  the  river,  upon  whose  information  the  Governor's  opin- 
ion was  then  predicated;  all  of  which  was  mainly  owing  to  the  con- 
fidence reposed  in  the  previous  examinations  of  Mr.  Ellicott.  They 
were  not,  however,  associated  with  Commissioners  of  the  United 
States  to  settle  the  boundary :  they  were  acting  merely  ex-parte,  in 
the  search  of  information,  whose  report,  if  correct,  would  not  have 
bound  the  United  States,  and  if  erroneous,  cannot  bind  Georgia : 
neither  this  nor  any  other  act  includes  either  party,  because  the 
parties  never  have  acted  in  conjunction;  consequently,  the  true  head 
of  the  St.  Mary's  has  always  been  debateable,  and  from  the  limited 
information  as  to  the  topography  of  the  country,  it  was  obliged  to 
remain  so,  until  Commissioners  were  duly  appointed  by  the  parties 
to  run  and  mark  the  line.  The  argument  of  the  Committee,  that  the 
north  prong  was  called  the  St.  Mary's,  and  therefore  "  intended  in 
the  several  state  papers  above  recited,"  to  which  they  attach  the 
greatest  importance,  is  based  upon  the  same  mistake  of  their  own 
agent;  for,  from  the  evidence  adduced  by  them,  it  appears  that  Elli- 
cott was  the  first  who  gave  it  the  name  of  St.  Mary's,  in  exclusion 
of  the  other  branches;  and  by  an  assumption  of  their  own,  they  de- 
prive the  southern  branch  of  a  participation  in  the  rights  of  a  name. 
This  argument  cannot  avail,  even  upon  the  principle  which  they 
were  forced  to  admit  in  their  illustration,  until  a  name  for  the  south 
prong,  different  from  St.  Mary's,  shall  have  been  established,  and 
that  too  known  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  when  the  boundary 
of  Georgia  was  described;  as  it  is  clear,  by  the  commission  to  Gov- 
ernor Wright,  that  it  was  intended  by  the  Royal  Government  to 
extend  the  eastern  boundaiy  of  Georgia  to  the  most  southern  stream 
of  St.  Mary's,  and  thence  to  the  head  thereof.  The  river  took  its 
name  at  the  disemboguement ;  of  course,  all  streams  coming  in  on  the 
south  were  southern  streams  of  that  river.  To  the  head  of  the  most' 
southern  stream,  is  the  point  at  which  the  eastern  line  determines; 
for  it  is  in  a  subsequent  clause  that  the  southern  boundary  is  de- 
scribed to  be  "  thence  westward,  as  far  as  our  territories  extend,  by 
the  north  boundary  line  of  our  Province  of  East  and  West  Florida." 

By  this  commission,  all  previous  boundaries  of  Georgia  were  re- 
voked and  determined.  To  this,  then,  we  are  to  look  for  our  geo- 
graphical limits;  and  fortunately  for  us,  in  this  exigenc}^,  it  de- 
scribes that  stream  of  the  St.  Mary's  to  be  the  head,  or  source,  for 


6  [Doc.  No.  50.] 

which  we  are  now  contending,  with  an  accuracy  that  can  no  longer 
be  misunderstood.  It  is  probable  that  the  course  of  the  river  was 
not  accurately  known;  from  which  it  is  inferred,  that  it  was  the  in- 
tention of  the  Royal  Commission  that  Georgia  should  extend  as  far 
south  as  the  most  southern  stream,  and  to  the  head  thereof,  or  that 
part  of  the  description  would  not  have  been  incorporated  in  the  east- 
ern boundary.  It  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  this  identical  stream 
was  meant,  and  not  the  stream  at  the  disemboguement,  which  was 
between  Amelia  Island  and  the  Main,  which  is  one  of  the  mouths  of 
the  St.  Mary's. 

It  could  not  have  applied  to  that,  as  both  the  Provinces  of  Geor- 
gia and  Florida  were  at  that  time  under  the  same  regal  government, 
and  Amelia  was  not  then,  nor  has  it  at  any  time  since,  been  con- 
sidered as  belonging  to  Georgia.  If,  then,  it  did  not  mean  the  south- 
ern stream  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  it  must  have  meant  the  south- 
ern stream  higher  up  the  river.  It  is  from  this  charter  that  our 
Legislature  conceived  themselves  authorized,  in  1783.  to  declare  our 
boundary  to  be  "  from  the  fork  of  the  Apalachicola,  where  the  Chat- 
tahoochie  and  Flint  rivers  meet,  in  a  direct  line  to  the  head  or  source 
of  the  southernmost  stream  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  along  the 
course  of  said  river  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean  " — which  furnishes  addi- 
tional evidence  that  the  south  prong  was  known  at  that  day  to  be 
the  head  of  the  river.  If  the  southern  stream  were  not  ascertained 
to  lead  to  the  source  of  the  river,  there  would  be  more  plausibility 
in  the  entertainment  of  different  opinions  upon  the  subject;  as,  in 
that  event,  the  boundary  acknowledged  by  Great  Britain  in  the 
treaty  of  '82,  and  provided  for  us  by  the  treaty  with  Spain  in  '95, 
would  vary  from  that  described  by  the  regal  commission  of  '64,  and 
our  act  of  '83.  But  when  all  these  documents  agree  that  the  head  of 
the  St.  Mary's  is  one  of  the  points  by  which  the  boundary  was  to  be 
regulated,  and  the  rights  conveyed  in  the  charter  of  Florida  are  not 
violated,  does  it  not  require  a  tenacity  of  opinion,  approaching  obsti- 
nacy in  error,  to  insist  upon  a  deviation?  It  is  not  expected  that 
Congress  will  be  led  by  sophistry  to  the  support  of  an  erroneous 
claim.  These  questions,  then,  result :  if  the  line  were  to  be  run  to 
the  point  agreed  upon  by  the  Commissioners,  under  the  3d  article 
of  the  treaty  with  Spain,  would  it  run  according  to  the  boundary 
described  for  us  in  our  old  charter?  according  to  the  boundary 
which  is  secured  to  us  in  the  definite  treaty  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain?  which  is  provided  for  us  in  the  treaty  of  '95,  with  the 
Spanish  Government?  which  our  act  of  '83  recognizes?  and,  more 
than  all,  which  our  Constitution  consecrates? 

Your  committee  cannot  believe  that,  when  the  subject  is  fully  in- 
vestigated by  Congress,  the  Federal  Government  will  be  so  unmind- 
ful of  justice,  and  her  obligations  to  one  of  the  confederacy,  even 
upon  the  hypothesis  that  she  could  succeed,  as  to  claim  an  advantage 
which  is  derived  solely  from  the  negligence  and  error  of  her  own 
agent.  They  therefore  beg  leave  to  recommend  the  following  reso- 
lutions : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  desirable  to  the  State  of  Georgia  to  have  the 
boundary  line  between  her  and  Florida  run  and  marked  as  speedily 
as  will  meet  the  convenience  of  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  As  the  act  of  Congress  of  14th  May,  1826,  providing  for 
the  running  and  marking  that  line,  requires  it  to  be  run  and  marked 


[Doc.  No.  50.]  7 

to  the  point  designated  as  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  by  the  Commis- 
sioners appointed  under  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of  friendship, 
limits,  and  navigation,  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  of 
27th  October,  1795;  and,  as  that  line  is  not,  in  the  opinion  of  Georgia, 
the  true  boundary;  that  Congress  be  earnestly  requested,  at  the 
present  session,  to  repeal  the  aforesaid  act,  and  to  pass  another,  au- 
thorizing the  line  to  be  run  and  marked  according  to  the  provisions 
of  the  2d  article  of  said  treaty. 

Resolved,  That,  should  Congress  refuse  to  make  any  provision  for 
running  the  aforesaid  line,  in  conjunction  with  the  authorities  of 
Georgia,  the  Governor  be  authorized  and  requested  to  appoint 
commissioners,  to  be  accompanied  with  a  competent  surveyors  and 
artist,  to  run  and  mark  the  line  according  to  the  stipulations  con- 
tained in  the  2d  article  of  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and 
Spain,  of  the  27th  October,  1795. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  requested  to  forward  a  copy  to 
our  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress,  to  be  by  them  laid 
before  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States. 

Secretary  of  State's  Office,  Georgia, 

Milledgeville,  December  26,  1828." 
The  above  and  foregoing  is  from  the  original  deposited  in  this 
office.     Approved  by  the  Governor  the  20th  instant. 

E.  HAMILTON,  Secretary. 

43064— S.  Doc.  467,  60-1 3 


GALES  &  SEATON, 
Printers  to  House  of  Reps. 


21st  CONGRESS, 
1st  Session. 


IN  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
January  11,  1830. 


Read,  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  aud  ordered  to  be  printed. 


REPORT  OF  COM3I1TTEE 


RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED  BY  THE  LEGISLATURE  OB'  GEORGIA, 

Requesting  that  provision  be  made  by  Congress  for  running  and 
marking  the  line  between  that  State  and  Florida. 


In  Senate,  November  28,  1829. 
The  Committee  on  the  state  of  the  Republic,  to  whom  was  referred 
that  part  of  the  Governor's  message  which  relates  to  the  boundary- 
line  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida, 
with  the  accompanying  documents,  have  had  the  same  under  their 
consideration,  and 

REPORT: 

That  it  is  with  extreme  regret  they  learn  that  the  line  dividing  this 
State  from  the  Territory  of  Florida  is  yet  unmarked,  and  still  the 
subject  of  controversy  between  the  State  and  the  United  States.  That 
it  has  been  the  misfortune,  and  not  the  fault,  of  Georgia,  that  she  has 
long  been  embroiled  in  disputes  respecting  her  boundary  lines,  is  no 
less  true  than  deprecated  by  her:  and  yet.  so  long  as  she  has  been 
urged  by  imperious  duty  to  contend  for  her  rights,  either  with  the 
United  States  or  any  of  her  sister  States,  it  gives  her  consolation  to 
know,  that,  in  none  of  these  controversies,  has  she  ever  subjected  her- 
self to  the  imputation  of  disregarding  the  rights  of  others,  or  of  hav- 
ing refused  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  reason  or  justice.  That  it  is  still 
her  duty  to  persevere  in  the  enforcement  of  her  rights  until  they  are 
recognized  and  established,  none  will  deny. 

The  Legislature  would  be  grossly  negligent  in  its  duty  to  the 
people  of  the  State,  and  especially  that  portion  of  them  bordering 
immediately  upon  the  line  in  dispute,  were  they  any  longer  to  delay 
the  prosecution  of  the  most  rigorous  measures  to  speed  this  contro- 
verted point  to  a  fair  and  equitable  adjustment.  Tt  is  high  time 
that  Georgia  should  know  her  boundary  lines.  That  she  has  a  right 
to  the  occupancy  of  the  land  to  the  true  line  which  separates  it  from 
the  Territory  of  Florida,  as  well  as  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  all  must 
admit.  That  the  line  to  be  run  directly  from  the  junction  of  the 
Flint  and  Chatahoochie  rivers  to  the  source  or  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  river,  is  the  true  line  of  division.  19  as  certain  as  it  can  be 
made  by  treaty  stipulation,  is  beyond  all  question.  There  really 
ought  to  be  no  difficultv  in  settling  the  matter.     The  course  of  the 


[17]  2 

line  being  plainly  designated,  as  also  the  point  of  beginning  and 
termination  specifically  pointed  out.  and  both  being  natural  points, 
and  the  description,  too,  not  floating  in  the  uncertain  recollection 
of  man.  but  reduced  to  the  greatest  possible  certainty  that  language 
can  make  it,  and  inserted  in  an  obligation  of  the  most  solemn  kind 
between  independent  sovereignties,  it  would  appear  to  the  committee 
to  leave  no  room  for  controversy.  It  is  useless  for  this  committee 
again  to  enter  into  an  argument  of  the  question  in  relation  to  the 
location  of  this  line;  so  full  and  so  perfect  a  view  of  the  same  was 
presented,  in  a  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  state  of  the  Republic, 
at  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature,  to  whom  that  subject  was  re- 
ferred, that  it  is  only  necessary  to  refer  to  that  report  to  establish 
the  truth  and  justice  of  our  cause,  and  fully  to  sustain  the  course 
which  the  State  is  pursuing  in  relation  to  that  matter. 

The  mere  quantity  of  acres,  or  strip  of  land  between  the  two 
lines,  independently  considered,  is  unimportant,  either  to  the  State 
or  the  United  States,  and  is  not  the  main  question  to  be  considered. 
It  is  principle,  mere  right,  for  which  Georgia  contends,  and  she  will 
be  satisfied  with  nothing  less.  The  Legislature  has  no  constitutional 
power  to  give  up  or  barter  away  the  territory  of  citizens  of  the 
State,  or  any  portion  thereof,  or  relinquish  her  jurisdiction  over  the 
same,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  preserve  inviolate  the  integrity  thereof. 
The  committee  were  hopeful  that  the  application  and  appeal,  which 
was  so  respectfully  and  directly  made  to  the  justice  and  good  sense 
of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  by  the  Legislature  of  this 
State,  at  its  last  session,  would  have  removed  all  difficulty  on  this 
subject,  and  close  this  unpleasant  and  unprofitable  controversy. 

The  United  States  can  certainly  have  no  wish  to  do  injustice  to 
any  one  of  the  members  of  the  Confederacy:  and  Georgia,  on  her 
part,  solemnly  disclaims  all-  intentions  of  even  a  wish  to  obtain., 
either  from  the  United  States  or  Florida,  an  acre  of  land,  to  which 
her  claim  is  not  sanctioned  by  equity  and  justice;  and  her  duty,  as 
well  as  her  most  earnest  desire,  is  to  cultivate  the  most  friendly 
feelings  towards  the  United  States,  and  also  towards  Florida,  and 
would  exceedingly  regret  that  she  should  be  reduced  to  the  necessity 
of  pursuing  any  measure  that  would  be  calculated  for  a  moment  to 
interrupt  those  good  feelings  that  now  so  happily  subsist  between 
them.  And  your  Committee  take  this  occasion  to  state,  that  they 
have  much  confidence  in  the  liberality  and  justice  of  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  administration  of  the  Government 
thereof;  and  are.  from  this  consideration,  induced  to  believe,  that 
the  want  of  time  prevented  the  Congress  from  acting  definitively 
upon  the  subject  at  its  last  session,  and  not  from  a  disposition  to 
disregard  the  rights  of  the  State,  or  leave  the  question  still  open. 
They  are  induced,  once  more,  earnestly  to  appeal  to  the  Legislature 
of  the  Union,  upon  this  subject,  and  request  that  they,  at  the  ensu- 
ing session  of  Congress,  repeal,  or  alter  and  amend,  the  act  passed 
on  the  14th  day  of  May.  1826.  in  relation  to  the  running  and  mark- 
ing the  said  line ;  and  make  provision  for  and  appoint  Commissioners 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  to  act  in  conjunction  with  Com- 
missioners to  be  appointed  on  the  part  of  Georgia,  to  trace  out  and 
plainly  mark  the  line  between  Georgia,  and  the  Territory  of  Florida, 
from  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  Rivers,  to  the 
true  head  or  source  of  the  River  St.  Mary's,  according  to  the  in- 


3  |  17] 

tention,  letter,  and  spirit,  of  the  second  article  of  the  treaty  of 
friendship,  limits,  and  navigation,  between  the  United  States  and 
Spain,  of  the  "27th  of  October,  1795.  without  restriction  as  to  the 
point  or  mound  designated  by  Mr.  Ellicott,  or  any  other  person. 

The  Committee,  for  effecting  the  object  embraced  in  the  foregoing 
report,  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolutions: 

Resold  d.  That  Congress  be  earnestly  requested  to  repeal,  or  alter 
and  amend,  the  act  of  the  14th  of  May,  1826,  for  running  out  and 
marking  the  line  between  Florida  and  Georgia,  and  make  provision 
for  and  appoint  Commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
to  act  in  conjunction  with  Commissioners  to  be  appointed  on  the 
part  of  Georgia,  to  run  and  mark  the  said  line  agreeable  to  the 
second  article  of  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Spain, 
before  referred  to,  as  speedily  as  will  suit  the  convenience  of  the 
United  State>. 

Resolved,  That,  should  Congress,  at  its  ensuing  session,  refuse  to 
make  any  provision  for  running  the  aforesaid  line,  in  conjunction 
with  the  authorities  of  Georgia,  that  his  Excellency  the  Governor 
be  authorized  and  requested,  as  soon  after  the  adjournment  of  Con- 
gress, or  as  soon  after  as  he  shall  have  ascertained  that  they  have 
acted  definitively  upon  the  said  case,  as  the  same  can  be  done  with 
convenience,  to  appoint  Commissioners,  with  a  competent  surveyor 
and  artist,  to  run  and  mark  plainly  the  line  aforesaid,  according  to 
the  provisions  contained  in  the  second  article  of  the  said  treaty 
between  Spain  and  the  United  States,  of  the  27th  October.  1795; 
and  that  his  Excellency  the  Governor  do,  in  such  case,  inform  the 
President  of  the  United  States  the  time  at  which  the  Commissioners 
on  the  part  of  Georgia  will  proceed  to  mark  the  said  line. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  requested  to  forward  a  copy  of 
this  report  and  resolutions  to  our  Senators  and  Representatives  in 
Congress,  to  be  by  them  laid  before  Congress,  early  in  the  ensuing 
session,  so  that  ample  time  may  be  had  to  act  upon  the  same. 

Read  and  agreed  to. 

THOMAS  STOCKS,  President. 
Attest : 

Wm.  Y.  Hansell,  Secretary. 

In  the  House  of  Represent atives. 

December  18th,  1829. 
Read  and  concurred  in. 

WARREN  JOURDAN,  Speaker. 
Attest : 
Wm.  C.  Dawson,  Clerk. 

Approved,  19th  December,  1829. 

GEORGE  R.  GILMER, 

Governor. 


22<3Congbess,  [DOC.    No.    43.1  Ho.  of  Reps. 

1st  Session.  L 

BOUNDARY  BETWEEN  GEORGIA  AND  FLORIDA. 


MESSAGE 

FROM    THE 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

TRANSMITTING 

The  information  required  by  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, of  the  19th  instant,  in  relation  to  the  boundary  line  between 
the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida. 


December  29,  1831. 
Read,  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary. 


Washington,  December  29,  1831. 
In  compliance  with  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, of  the  19th  instant,  requesting  the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  communicate  to  it  "  the  correspondence  between  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Georgia  and  an}'  department  of  this  Government,  in  the 
years  1830  and  1831.  in  relation  to  the  boundary  line  between  the 
State  of  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida/'  I  transmit,  here- 
with, a  communication  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  copies  of 
the  papers  referred  to. 

It  is  proper  to  add,  as  the  letter  and  resolutions  on  this  subject, 
from  the  Governor  and  Legislature  of  Georgia,  were  received  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  last  Congress;  and  as  that  body,  after  having 
the  same  subject  under  consideration,  had  failed  to  authorize  the 
President  to  take  any  steps  in  relation  to  it — that  it  was  my  inten- 
tion to  present  it,  in  due  time,  to  the  attention  of  the  present  Con- 
fress  by  a  special  message.  This  determination  has  been  hastened, 
y  the  call  of  the  House  for  the  information  now  communicated; 
and  it  only  remains  for  me  to  await  the  action  of  Congress  upon  the 
subject. 

ANDREW  JACKSON. 


Department  of  State. 
Washington.  December  28tfA,  1831. 
The  Secretary  of  State,  to  whom  has  been  referred,  by  the  Presi- 
dent, a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  of  the  19th  of 
this  month,  requesting  the  President  to  furnish  that  House  with  a 
copy  of  any  correspondence  which  may  have  taken  place  in  the  year 
1830  or  1831,  between  the  Executive  of  Georgia  and  any  department 
of  this  Government,  relative  to  the  boundary  line  between  the  State 
of  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida,  has  the  honor  to  transmit, 


2  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

herewith,  to  the  President,  the  copy  of  a  letter  under  date  the  22d 
of  March,  1831,  from  the  Governor  of  Georgia,  addressed  to  the 
President  himself  upon  the  subject  in  question,  together  with  a  copy 
of  the  resolution  of  the  Assembly  of  Georgia  therein  referred  to; 
which  letter  and  resolution  were  deposited,  by  order  of  the  President, 
in  this  department. 

That  communication  comprehends  all  the  correspondence,  within 
the  purview  of  the  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  which 
is  to  be  found  in  this  office;  but  an  indistinct  recollection  is  never- 
theless entertained  here,  that  the  letter  of  the  Governor  of  Georgia 
was  answered  by  the  President,  though  it  does  not  appear  that  a 
copy  of  his  letter  was  kept. 

Respectfullv  submitted.    • 

EDW.  LIVINGSTON. 


Executive  Department, 
Georgia,   Milledgeville,   March   22,   1831. 

Sir:  Congress  having  failed,  at  its  last  session,  to  make  provision 
for  running  the  dividing  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida,  the 
Legislature  of  this  State  has  directed  me  to  cause  that  line  to  be  run 
by  commissioners  appointed  for  that  purpose. 

The  President  is  informed  that  commissioners  have  accordingly 
been  appointed,  and  received  instructions  to  meet  at  the  town  of 
St.  Mary's,  on  the  first  of  May  next,  and  to  proceed,  without  delay, 
to  run  and  plainly  mark  the  line  from  the  junction  of  the  Chatta- 
hoochie  and  Flint  rivers,  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's,  agreeably  to 
the  treaty  of  1795,  between  the  United  States  and  Spain. 

The  opinions  and  motives  of  the  Legislature  which  induced  this 
proceeding,  are  fully  explained  to  the  President  in  the  report  and 
resolutions  of  that  body,  copies  of  which  accompany  this  communica- 
tion. Since  1827,  when  it  was  first,  discovered  that  the  place  fixed 
upon  by  Ellicott  and  Minor,  did  not  truly  represent  the  head  of  the 
St.  Mary's  intended  by  the  treaty  of  1795,  the  State  of  Georgia  has 
been  continually  urging  upon  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
the  propriety  of  causing  such  an  examination  and  survey  to  be  made, 
as  would  terminate  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  place  which  ought  to 
be  so  considered. 

The  State  does  not  desire  the  acquisition  of  any  territory,  and 
claims  none  but  what  is  believed  to  be  secured  to  it  by  the  highest 
evidence  of  title.  The  obligation,  therefore,  is  imperative  upon  those 
who  administer  the  Government  of  the  State,  to  preserve  its  territory 
inviolate.  The  boundary  described  in  its  Constitution  is  the  same, 
from  the  junction  of  the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers  to  the  St. 
Mary's,  as  that  which  formed  its  dividing  line  from  East  Florida 
when  Georgia  was  a  colony  of  Great  Britain.  By  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  in  1763,  forming  the  govern- 
ments of  East  and  West  Florida,  and  extending  the  southern 
boundary  of  Georgia,  that  line  was  described  as  running  from  the 
junction  of  the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers  to  the  source  of  the 
St.  Mary's.  By  the  commission  granted  to  Governor  Wright,  in 
1764,  the  same  line  is  described  as  extending  to  the  southernmost 
stream  of  the  St.  Mary's.  By  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace  of  1783, 
Great  Britain  ceded  to  Georgia  as  an  independent  State,  and  as  one 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  3 

of  the  parties  to  that  treaty,  all  the  territory  whi<  i  to  it 

when  it  ceased  to  be  a  colony.  The  Line  in  questio  is  (escribed 
in  that  treaty  as  running  from  the  junction  of  the  Chattahoochie 
and  Flint  rivers,  straight,  to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary"-.  By  the 
term  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,  as  used  in  that  treaty,  was  understood 
the  same  place  which  was  described  in  the  proclamation  of  17<)C. 
and  in  the  commission  to  Governor  Wright,  m  1704,  as  the  source 
or  most  southern  stream  of  the  St.  Mary's.  The  same  must  be  in- 
tended to  have  been  meant  by  the  term  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's 
in  the  treaty  of  1795,  because  it  corresponds  exactly  with  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  same  place  in  the  treaty  of  1783,  and  because,  although 
there  were  disputes  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  and  the 
United  States  and  Georgia,  as  to  the  boundary  line  between  that 
State  and  "West  Florida,  none  are  believed  to  have  existed  as  to  the 
line  between  Georgia  and  East  Florida.  If,  therefore,  the  place 
fixed  upon  by  Ellicot  and  Minor  does  not  truly  represent  the  head 
of  the  St.  Mary's,  surely  the  United  States  ought  not  to  insist  upon 
its  being  so  considered,  especially  since  Florida  has  become  a  part 
of  its  own  territory. 

In  communicating  to  the  President,  by  the  request  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, the  appointment  of  commissioners,  and  the  time  when  they  are 
instructed  to  proceed  to  run  the  line  from  the  junction  of  the  Chatta- 
hoochie and  the  Flint  rivers  to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's.  I  have 
thought  it  my  duty  to  present  this  brief  justification  of  the  course 
which  has  been  pursued  by  the  State  in  ascertaining  the  extent  of  her 
territorial  rights. 

Verv  respectfully,  vours, 

GEORGE  R.  GILMER. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States.  . 


The  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Republic,  to  whom  was  referred 
that  part  of  the  Governor's  message  which  relates  to  the  boundary 
line  bettveen  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida, 
with  the  accompanying  documents,  harp  had  the  same  under  con- 
sideration, and  report: 

That  the  deep  interest  which  Georgia  has  in  the  question  of  the  final 
and  satisfactory  settlement  of  her  boundaries,  is  such  as  to  impose  on 
her  constituted  authorities,  the  duty  of  prosecuting  the  subject  to  some 
final  termination.  And  at  this  time,  your  committee  believe,  that  the 
constituted  authorities  of  this  State  would  be  liable  to  the  charge  of 
dereliction  of  duty  to  her  citizens,  were  they  to  permit  the  boundary 
which  separates  Georgia  from  the  Territory  of  Florida,  from  the 
junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers,  thence  to  the  head 
of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  to  remain,  as  it  now  does,  unascertained,  and 
not  run  and  marked. 

Your  committee,  in  again  presenting  a  condensed  view  of  the  sub- 
ject referred  to  their  consideration,  will  purposely  be  very  brief,  as  the 
merits  of  the  question  have  been  so  often  presented  to  the  Federal 
Government,  and  particularly  in  the  report  and  resolutions  agreed  to 
by  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State,  on  the  16th  day  of  December, 
1828,  which  your  committee  beg  may  be  referred  to,  as  presenting 
most  of  the  evidences  and  facts  on  which  Georgia  claims  a  final  set  tie- 


4  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

ment  of  the  boundary  line  between  this  State  and  the  territory  of 
Florida. 

By  referring  to  the  charter  of  Georgia  which  Avas  granted  in  the 
year  1732,  to  certain  persons,  and  its  surrender  to  the  King  of  Great 
Britain  in  the  year  1752,  by  the  trustees,  and  the  proclamation  of 
1763,  establishing  the  government  of  East  and  West  Florida,  and 
extending  the  southern  boundary  of  Georgia,  and  the  commission  of 
Governor  Wright,  at  which  time  both  Georgia  and  Florida,  were 
British  Colonies  or  Provinces,  dated  the  20th  day  of  January,  1764; 
the  only  legitimate  inference  from  each  of  the  recited  evidences  is, 
that  the  southern  line  of  Georgia  was  to  run  from  the  most  southern 
stream  of  a  river  St.  Mary's,  and  westward  from  thence,  and  conse- 
quently leaving  the  whole  of  the  hea.d  waters  of  that  river  within 
the  boundary  of  Georgia;  and  every  other  public  document  which 
relates  to  the  said  boundary,  either  as  a  boundary  line  of  the  United 
States  or  the  State  of  Georgia,  is  in  palpable  accordance  with  this 
conclusion,  until  the  year  1800. 

In  the  j^ear  1795,  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  Spain 
concluded  a  treaty,  by  the  second  article  of  which  it  was  agreed,  that 
a  line  should  begin  from  a  point  at  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and 
Chattahoochie  rivers,  and  to  run  from  thence  to  the  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  river.  Under  the  provisions  of  said  treaty,  commissioners 
were  to  be  appointed  to  run  and  plainly  mark  said  line,  and  commis- 
sioners were  accordingly  appointed;  and  in  the  year  1800,  Mr.  Elli- 
cott,  the  commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  the  com- 
missioner on  the  part  of  Spain  met,  and  attempted  to  run  and  mark 
the  said  line,  from  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers, 
to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,  but  from  causes  which  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  state  in  detail,  the  line  was  not  run,  but  the  commissioners 
fixed  on  a  spot  near  a  branch  of  the  river  St.  Mary's,  and  erected  a 
mound,  and  agreed  that  the  mound  so  erected  by  them  near  the  Oka- 
funoke  Swamp,  should  be  taken  as  the  true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's 
river,  and  that  a  line  should  be  run  from  the  junction  of  the  Flint 
and  Chattahoochie  rivers  to  said  mound,  and  that  it  should  be  taken 
as  the  true  line;  provided,  if  said  line  did  not  pass  within  one  mile 
north  of  said  mound,  it  should  be  correct  to  carry  it  to  that  distance. 

Your  committee,  after  having  recited  some  of  the  evidences  on 
which  Georgia  claims  that  the  boundary  line  between  this  and  the 
Territory  of  Florida,  have  not  been  either  finally  or  satisfactorily 
settled,  take  leave  to  state  that,  until  the  year  1819,  very  little  was 
known  of  the  section  of  country  about  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river. 
The  Okafunoke  Swamp,  in  which  it  has  its  head,  anterior  to  that  time, 
was  an  almost  impenetrable  wilderness,  and  was  very  little  known  to 
civilized  man.  and  the  explorations  made  by  the  authority  of  the 
Legislature  of  this  State,  in  the  year  1818,  were  not  intended  to  do 
more  than  to  collect  information  of  a  part  of  the  lands  and  boundary 
line  of  Georgia.  But  since  that  time,  the  Indian  rights  of  occupancy 
has  been  extinguished  to  all  the  lands  in  this  State,  from  the  junction 
of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers,  to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's 
river,  and  that  section  of  this  State  is  now  generally  settled,  and  the 
country  generally  known.  It  is  therefore  now  believed,  that  it  will 
not  be  difficult  or  uncertain  to  ascertain  the  true  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  river.  Your  committee  believe  the  Legislature  will  not  dis- 
charge a  duty  it  owes  to  the  good  citizens  of  this  State,  without  once 


I   UNIVERSITY  } 

VeZ,         tDoo.  No.  43.] 


more  asking  and  requesting  the  Federal  Government  to  co-operate  in 
this  desirable  object,  and  have  the  said  line  run  and  plainly  marked. 

Your  committee  have  too  much  confidence  in  the  authorities  of  the 
General  Government  to  indicate  an  opinion  that  the  rights  of  Georgia 
are  not  attended  to  from  improper  considerations. 

The  reports  made  to  Congress  by  the  Judiciary  Committees,  to 
whom  the  subject  has  been  referred,  one  on  the  21st  day  of  March, 
1828,  and  another  on  the  30th  day  of  January,  1830,  have  been  care- 
fully examined  by  your  committee ;  but  as  the  said  reports  do  not  con- 
tain any  new  evidences  of  the  claim  on  which  the  United  States  main- 
tain that  the  mound  erected  by  Mr.  Ellicott  to  be  truely  and  carefully 
placed  at  or  near  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river;  that  they  have  con- 
sidered it  improper,  at  this  time,  to  make  any  examination  of  the 
conclusions  arrived  at  by  the  arguments  relied  on  in  said  reports. 

In  conclusion,  your  committee  are  satisfied  that  it  is  their  duty  to 
state,  that  if  the  question  of  the  settlement  of  boundary  between 
Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida  is  not  fully  and  finally  settled 
under  the  provisions  of  the  resolutions  which  are  attached  to  this 
report,  no  further  attempts  should  be  made  by  this  State  in  the  way 
now  sought  to  effect  the  desirable  object,  but  that  the  question  ought 
to  be  carried  for  decision  before  the  proper  judicial  tribunal,  and  to 
effect  the  objects  embraced  in  this  report,  your  committee  recommend 
the  adoption  of  the  following  resolutions : 

Resolved.  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Legislature,  that  the  divid- 
ing line  between  Georgia  and  Florida,  ought  to  be  run  from  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers,  to  the  head  of  the  most 
.southern  branch,  or  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  that  the  said 
line  ought  to  be  marked  without  more  or  further  delay. 

Resolced.  That  Congress  be  earnestly  requested,  as  an  act  of  justice, 
during  its  next  session,  to  repeal,  alter  or  amend,  the  act  of  the  14th 
of  May.  1826,  which  provided  for  the  running  of.  and  marking  the 
line  dividing  Georgia  from  the  Territory  of  Florida,  and  to  make 
additional  and  suitable  provisions  for  the  appointment  of  commis- 
sioners on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to  join  commissioners. on  the 
part  of  Georgia,  to  run  and  plainly  mark  the  dividing  line  between 
this  State  and  the  territory  of  Florida,  agreeably  to  the  second  article 
of  the  treaty  of  the  27th  day  of  October.  1795.  between  the  United 
States  and  Spain. 

Resolced.  That  should  commissioners  be  appointed  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States,  during  the  next  session  of  Congress,  to  meet  com- 
missioners on  the  part  of  this  State,  to  run  out  and  mark  the  dividing 
line  between  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida,  that  as  soon  as 
his  Excellency,  the  Governor,  shall  or  may  be  officially  informed  of 
the  same,  that  he  be.  and  is  hereby  empowered  and  requested  to  ap- 
point, without  delay,  a  competent  commissioner,  artist,  and  surveyor, 
on  the  part  of  this  State,  to  meet  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the 
United  .States:  and  that  he  open  a  correspondence  on  the  subject  with 
said  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  requesting  a 
meeting  of  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  this  State  and  the  United 
States,  at  the  earliest  day  convenient,  for  the  purpose  of  discharging 
the  duties  assigned  them,  with  the  least  possible  delay. 

Resolved,  That  if  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States 
and  Georgia  shall  meet  agreeably  io  the  provisions  of  the  preceding 
resolutions,  and  shall  fail  to  effect  the  object  of  their  appointment, 


6  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

that  it  is  desirable  that  they  report  and  recommend  terms  and  condi- 
tions on  which  the  said  disputed  and  unsettled  line  ought  to  be  fully 
and  finally  settled;  if,  therefore,  the  Federal  Government  shall  give 
authority  to  the  commissioners  appointed  by  said  Government,  to 
make  such  recommendation  to  the  said  Government,  that  his  Excel- 
lency the  Governor  be,  and  is  hereby,  requested  to  give  to  the  commis- 
sioners on  the  part  of  Georgia,  instructions  to  join  in  such  recom- 
mendation, if  they  should  agree  that  the  same  is  just  and  proper. 

Resolved,  That  should  Congress,  at  its  ensuing  session,  refuse  or 
neglect  to  make  provision  for  running  out  and  plainly  marking  said 
line,  by  the  appointment  of  a  commissioner  to  meet  the  commissioner 
who  may  be  appointed  on  the  part  of  Georgia,  that  his  Excellency  the 
Governor  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  and  requested,  as  soon  after 
the  adjournment  of  the  next  session  of  Congress  as  may  be  consistent 
to  appoint  two  commissioners,  and  an  artist,  and  surveyor,  to  meet, 
as  early  after  their  appointment  as  may  be  convenient,  and  run  out 
and  plainly  mark  the  said  line  dividing  Georgia  from  the  Territory 
of  Florida,  from  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  river  to 
the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  agreeably  to  the  second  article  of  a 
treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  of  the  22d  day  of  Octo- 
ber, 1795;  and  that  his  Excellency  the  Governor  do,  in  such  case, 
inform  the  President  of  the  United  States,  the  time  at  which  the 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  Georgia  will  proceed  to  run  out  and 
plainly  mark  the  said  line. 

Read  and  agreed  to,  November  19,  1830. 

THOMAS  STOCKS, 

President. 
Attest:  John  A.  Cuthbert,  Secretary. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  read  and  concurred  in. 

ASBURY  HULL,  Speaker. 
Attest:  W.  C.  Dunson,  Clerk. 

Approved,  December  16,  1830. 

GEORGE  R.  GILMER, 

Go  vernor. 


Williamson's  Hotel, 

21st  December,  1829. 

Dear  Sir  :  Though  still  detained  in  my  room,  I  have  made  inquiries 
respecting  Mr.  Ellicot's  report;  and,  knowing  that  the  map  accom- 
panying it  could  only  have  been  wanted  at  the  Treasury,  as  connected 
with  the  public  surveys  adjacent  to  the  line,  my  inquiry  was  directed 
to  the  Land  Office. 

Mr.  Robert  King,  who  has  been  the  draughtsman  attached  to  that 
office  ever  since  1803,  recollects  perfectly  well  Mr.  Ellicott's  map  of 
the  line;  that  it  was  deposited  in  the  office,  and  that  Mr.  Freeman, 
who  was  once  surveyor  general  of  the  public  lands  south  of  Tennessee, 
took  a  copy  of  it.  The  original  remained  in  the  office  till  the  year 
1812,  and  for  some  time  later,  when  Mr.  Tiffin,  Commissioner  of  the 
Land  Office,  lent  it,  for  some  public  purpose,  to  the  chairman  of  a 
committee  of  Congress,  probably  a  land  committee.  The  map  never 
was  returned;  and,  if  burnt,  it  was,  together  with  the  records  of 
Congress,  in  the  Capitol.     You  may  however  inquire  from  the  clerks 


[Doc.  No.,43.]  7 

of  the  two  Houses,  as  Mr.  Tiffin  was  commissioner  subsequent  to  the 
capture  of  Washington,  and  Mr.  King  does  not  recollect  the  precise 
date  when  the  map  was  loaned  by  him. 
I  beg  leave  to  suggest — 

1.  An  application  to  Mr.  Graham,  that  a  search  may  be  made  in 
his  office  for  the  report,  which  may  possibly  be  there. 

2.  A  request  that  he  will  direct  Mr.  Freeman's  successor  to  send 
back  the  copy  of  the  map  which  he  had  taken. 

3.  That  Mr.  King's  evidence  may  be  perpetuated,  as  he  is  old  and 
infirm. 

It  is  possible,  though  not  probable,  that  when  the  map,  of  which  I 
have  myself  no  recollection,  was  obtained  from  the  Department  of 
State  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  I  took  the  report  home  to  read,  and 
neglected  to  return  it.  I  have  lost  none  of  my  papers;  and,  on  my 
return  to  New  York,  I  will  make  a  thorough  search.  If  there,  it 
must  be  bound,  and  have  got  mixed  with  pamphlets;  for,  as  to 
public  papers,  they  were,  as  such,  all  returned  when  I  left  Washing- 
ton. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

ALBERT  GALLATIN. 
The  Hon.  Joseph  M.  White, 

of  Florida,  in  Congress. 

General  Land  Office, 

2d  March,  1830. 

Sir  :  In  answer  to  your  inquiry  respecting  the  map  of  the  line  be- 
tween the  Floridas  and  the  United  States,  called  Ellicott's  line,  I  beg 
leave  to  observe,  that,  in  the  summer  of  1802,  Mr.  Thomas  Freeman 
(who  was  surveyor  of  that  line  with  Mr.  Ellicott,)  was  employed  to 
make  a  map  exhibiting  the  country  north  of  that  line,  for  the  use  of 
the  Treasury  Department,  whereon  the  line  was  accurately  delineated 
as  the  basis  for  said  map.  I  was  frequently  with  him  during  the 
time  he  was  employed  on  it;  and,  to  the  best  of  my  recollection,  he 
took  it  from  another  which  appeared  to  have  been  drawn  by  him  as 
surveyor,  and  which  might  have  been  the  original.  All  this  was 
previous  to  my  appointment  as  draughtsman,  which  was  in  April, 
1805.  At  that  time,  the  map  by  Mr.  Freeman  was  in  the  office,  and 
remained  there  until  loaned  by  Mr.  Tiffin  to  a  committee  of  Congress, 
or  the  commissioners  appointed  to  settle  the  Yazoo  claims,  (I  think 
the  latter,)  and  never  has  been  returned. 

I  do  not  recollect  that  the  original  plat  signed  by  the  commission- 
ers appointed  to  run  the  line,  was  ever  on  file  with  the  maps  belong- 
ing to  the  General  Land  Office,  as  the  copy  alluded  to  was  all  that 
could  ever  be  wanted  in  this  office. 

It  is  probable  that  a  copy  may  be  found  at  the  topographical 
bureau  of  the  War  Department. 

The  journal  of  Mr.  Ellicott.  I  believe,  was  published  in  1803,  with 
the  map,  &c.  and  may  be  in  the  Congress  Library. 
I  am.  sir.  your  obedient  servant, 

ROBERT  KING, 
Draughtsman,  General  Land  Office. 

The  Hon.  Joseph  M.  White. 

of  Florida,  House  of  Representatives. 


8  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

March  21,  1828. 

The  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  to  which  was  referred  the  message 
of  the  President,  of  the  22d  January,  1828,  transmitting  copies  of 
communications  from  the  Governor  of  Georgia,  relating  to  the  line 
dividing  that  State  from  the  Territory  of  Florida,  report: 

The  correspondence  between  the  President  and  the  Governor  of 
Georgia,  thus  referred  to  the  committee,  presents  the  question.  "What 
is  the  correct  boundary  between  that  State  and  the  Territory  of 
Florida  ?  To  enable  the  House  to  decide  this  question,  the  committee 
beg  leave  to  present  to  their  consideration,  a  condensed  view  of  the 
evidence  in  relation  to  it. 

The  charter  of  Carolina  to  the  lords  proprietors,  in  1663,  extended 
southwardly  to  the  river  Matheo,  now  called  St.  John's,  supposed, 
in  the  charter,  to  be  in  latitude  31,°  and  so  west,  in  a  direct  line, 
as  far  as  the  South  Sea. 

It  appears,  by  an  extract  from  the  charter  of  Georgia,  in  1732, 
that  the  boundaries  were  "  all  those  lands,  countries,  and  territories, 
situate,  lying,  and  being,  in  that  part  of  South  Carolina,  in  America, 
which  lies  from  the  northern  stream  of  a  river,  commonly  called  the 
Savannah,  all  along  the  sea  coast  to  the  southward,  unto  the  most 
southern  stream  of  a  certain  other  great  water  or  river,  called  the 
•Alatamaha,  and  westward  from  the  heads  of  the  said  rivers,  respect- 
ively, in  a  direct  line,  to  the  South  >eas."  Before  the  date  of  this 
charter  to  Georgia,  by  a  second  charter  to  Carolina,  in  1667.  its 
limits  had  been  extended  south  and  westward,  as  far  as  the  degree 
of  twenty-nine  inclusive,  of  northern  latitude.  The  Government  of 
Carolina,  having  been,  in  its  origin,  a  proprietary  one.  was.  in  1729, 
surrendered  by  seven  out  of  eight  of  the  proprietors,  and  afterwards 
by  the  eighth,  and  then  became  a  regal  one :  and  the  province  was 
divided  into  the  two  Governments  of  North  and  South  Carolina. 
The  order  of  Council  making  this  division,  and  fixing  the  boundaries, 
is  not  accessible  to  the  committee,  nor  is  it  deemed  material. 

The  trustees  of  Georgia,  in  1752.  surrendered  the  whole  territory 
to  the  King,  and  the  Government  was  afterwards  entirely  regal. 

The  King,  by  a  proclamation  of  the  7th  October.  1763.  annexed  to 
the  Province  of  Georgia,  all  the  lands  lying  between  the  rivers  Alata- 
maha and  St.  Mary's,  and,  by  his  commission  to  Governor  Wright,  of 
the  20th  Januaiy,  1764,  declares  the  boundaries  to  be  on  the  north  by 
the  most  northern  stream  of  a  river,  there  commonly  called  Savan- 
nah, as  far  as  the  head  of  said  river,  and  from  thence,  westward,  as 
far  as  our  territories  extend:  on  the  east  by  the  sea  coast,  from  said 
river  Savannah,  to  the  most  southern  stream  of  a  certain  other  river, 
called  St.  Mary,  including  all  islands  within  twenty  leagues  of  the 
coast,  lying  between  the  rivers  Savannah  and  St.  Mary,  as  far  as  the 
head  thereof:  and  from  thence,  westward,  as  far  as  our  territories 
extend,  by  the  north  boundary  line  of  our  Provinces  of  East  and 
West  Florida. 

By  the  treaty  of  peace,  in  1783.  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States  is  thus 
described:  "'South,  by  a  line,  to  be  drawn  due  east  from  the  de- 
termination of  the  line  last  mentioned,  in  the  latitude  of  thirty-one 
decrees  north  of  the  equator,  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola 


[Doe.  No.  43.]  9 

or  Catahouchee;  thence,  along  the  middle  thereof,  to  its  junction 
with  the  Flint  river;  thence,  straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river; 
and  thence,  down  along  the  middle  of  St.  Mary's  river,  to  the 
Atlantic  Ocean." 

By  the  proclamation  of  1763,  before  referred  to.  the  King  had  de- 
clared that  part  of  the  northern  boundary  of  East  Florida,  which  is 
now  the  subject  of  inquiry,  to  be  as  follows,  viz :  To  the  northward, 
by  a  line  drawn  from  that  part  of  said  river  (Apalachicola)  where 
the  Chatahoochee  and  Flint  rivers  meet,  to  the  source  of  St.  Mary'-. 
and,  by  the  course  of  the  said  river,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  .Spain  hav- 
ing obtained  from  Great  Britain  a  cession  of  the  Floridas,  without, 
as  is  believed,  any  description  of  limits,  but  with  a  knowledge  of  the 
provisional  treaty  of  November,  1782,  and  under  what  were  the 
boundaries  of  those  provinces  in  the  hands  of  Great  Britain,  some 
difficulty  arose  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  in  relation  to 
this  boundary,  which  led  to  the  treaty  of  27th  October,  1795,  com- 
monly called  the  treaty  of  San  Lorenzo  el  Real:  by  the  second  article 
of  which,  it  was  agreed,  that  the  boundary  line  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Floridas,  shall  be  designated  by  a  line,  beginning  on 
the  river  Mississippi,  at  the  northernmost  part  of  the  31st  degree  of 
latitude  north  of  the  equator,  which  from  thence  shall  be  drawn  due 
east  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola  or  Chatahoochee ;  thence, 
along  the  middle  thereof,  to  its  junction  with  the  Flint;  thence, 
straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river:  and  thence,  down  the  middle 
thereof,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

It  was  provided  by  the  3d  article  of  that  treaty,  that  a  commis- 
sioner and  surveyor,  to  be  appointed  by  each  of  the  contracting 
parties,  should  run  and  mark  the  boundary,  according  to  the  stipu- 
lations of  the  2d  article,  above  recited.  It  was  further  stipulated, 
that  they  should  make  plats,  and  keep  journals  of  their  proceedings, 
which  should  be  considered  as  part  of  the  convention,  and  have  the 
same  force  as  if  they  were  inserted  therein.  In  conformity  with 
this  stipulation.  Andrew  Ellicott  was  appointed  commissioner,  and 
Thomas  Freeman  surveyor,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  for  the 
purpose  of  running  the  line  mentioned  in  the  2d  article.  This  ap- 
pointment was  made  in  May.  1796:  it  appears  from  a  letter  of  the 
commissioner,  dated  22d  March.  1800.  to  the  then  Secretary  of  State. 
that  a  report,  of  what  had  been  done,  would  soon  be  completed;  but 
that  report,  if  made,  is  not  now.  as  far  as  the  committee  are  informed, 
to  be  found.  It  appears  from  the  same  letter,  that  our  commissioner 
experienced  great  difficulty  and  embarrassment  in  the  execution  of 
the  duty  assigned  to  him.  from  the  Indians,  and.  he  intimates,  at  the 
instigation  of  others.  The  journal  of  Ellicott  was  published  in  1803. 
It  appears  that  the  commissioners  did  not  run  and  mark  the  line  from 
the  junction  of  Chatahoochee  and  Flint  rivers,  to  the  head  of 
St.  Mary's;  but  they  designated  a  point,  which  should  be  taken  as 
the  one/ to  or  near  which  a  line  should  be  drawn  from  Flint  river, 
which,  when  drawn,  was  to  be  final:  provided,  it  passed  not  less  than 
one  mile  north  of  a  certain  mound,  erected  by  them :  but  if,  on  experi- 
ment, it  should  be  found  to  pass  within  less  than  a  mile  north  of  said 
mound,  it  should  be  corrected  to  carry  it  to  that  distance.  This 
mound  is  near  the  Okefenoke  Swamp.  It  appears  from  a  report  of 
John  McBride.  a  surveyor,  appointed  by  Georgia,  in  the  year  1827, 
that  there  is  a  stream,  called  by  him  the  South  Branch  of  the 
St.  Mary's,  much  farther  south  than  the  one  considered  the  head 


10  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

branch  of  that  river,  by  the  American  and  Spanish  commissioners; 
and  he  says,  that  both  its  length,  its  volume  of  water,  and  general 
direction,  coincide  in  favor  of  the  South  Branch.  It  appears,  by  a 
document  referred  to  as  part  of  this  report,  marked  A,  that,  under 
a  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  Georgia,  in  1818,  the  Governor  of  that 
State  appointed  commissioners  to  examine  and  report  whether  Elli- 
cott's  mound  was  the  true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's;  and  from  the  letter 
of  the  Governor,  in  1819,  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  it  appears,  that  the 
commissioners  had  reported,  that,  after  a  careful  examination,  they 
found  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  to  agree  with  the  report  made  by  Mr. 
Ellicot.  Two  of  the  commissioners,  in  a  paper  referred  to  as  part 
of  this  report,  marked  B..  think  it  probable  that  they  may  have  been 
misled  by  their  guide — assigning  as  the  reasons  of  that  impression : 
1st,  that  they  recollect  to  have  seen  what  appeared  to  them,  through 
thick  brush  wood,  to  be  a  lively  little  stream,  emptying  in  through 
the  opposite  or  right  bank  of  the  southern  or  middle  fork  of  the 
St.  Mary's ;  which,  being  pointed  out  to  the  pilot,  he  replied,  that  the 
branch  they  were  pursuing  was  the  right  one:  and,  2d.  by  the  repre- 
sentation given  by"  the  survey  of  McBride.  After  this  review  of  the 
evidence,  it  will  be  seen  by  the  House,  that  the  question  is,  What  is 
the  head  or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's?  for  the  other  end  of  the  line, 
to  wit:  the  junction  of  the  Chatahoochee  and  Flint  rivers,  being  un- 
contested, so  soon  as  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  is  ascertained,  all 
difficulty  ceases  as  to  the  boundary.  The  committee  are  of  opinion, 
upon  the  whole  view  of  the  case,  that  the  point  designated  by  the 
American  and  Spanish  commissioners,  ought  to  be  considered  as  the 
head  of  St.  Mary's.  They  consider  the  solution  of  the  question  to 
depend  on  this,  which  stream  is  to  be  considered  the  true  St.  Mary's 
river,  according  to  reputation,  and  the  understanding  and  acquies- 
cence of  the  parties  concerned?  As  far  back  as  1800,  the  commis- 
sioners of  the  two  Governments  considered,  upon  examination,  what 
is  now  called  the  North  Branch,  as  the  St.  Mary's:  and  the  Georgia 
commissioners,  in  1819.  concur  with  Mr.  Ellicott.  as  to  the  name  of 
that  river;  although  another  river  unites  with  this,  which  vents  more 
head  water  and  is  longer,  yet,  if  it  were  not  called,  or  known  by  the 
name  of  St.  Mary's,  these  circumstances  would  not  alter  the  case. 
The  committee  infer,  that  it  was  not  so  called,  or  known,  from  these 
circumstances ;  1st.  that  the  commissioners  of  two  Governments  were 
appointed  to  settle  and  decide  a  contested  question  of  boundary :  to 
do  this,  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  being  one  of  the  termini,  it  became 
their  duty  to  seek  for  information  from  every  source,  accessible  to 
them,  as  to  which  stream  was  the  St.  Mary's,  and  what  was  its  head. 
Having  fixed  upon  a  particular  stream,  as  being  the  true  river,  and 
designated  a  point  as  its  source,  and  this  being  matter  of  notoriety, 
Georgia  acquiesced,  without  objection,  as  far  as  the  committee  are 
informed,  till  1818;  and  then  the  report  of  their  own  commissioners 
coincided  with  Ellicott's  designation,  and  that.  too.  though  they  had, 
as  their  pilot,  as  the  committee  believe,  the  very  person  on  whose 
suggestion  they  had  been  appointed.  In  this  report.  Georgia  acqui- 
esced, as  far  as  the  committee  is  informed,  until  recently.  As  far  as 
the  nature  of  this  unsettled  country  will  admit  of  reputation  as  to  the 
names  of  its  streams,  these  facts  may  be  considered  as  probably  the 
best  evidence  which  was  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  the  head  of  that 
river,  as  intended  in  the  several  State  papers  above  recited.  There 
is  an  example  mentioned  in  one  of  the  printed  documents,  which  will 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  11 

illustrate  the  idea  of  the  committee.  It  is  now  believed  to  be  a 
geographical  fact,  that  the  Missouri  is  a  longer  stream  than  the 
Mississippi,  and  we  believe  vents  more  water;  and  yet,  as  it  never 
has  been  called  by  the  name  of  Mississippi,  if  we  were  now  called 
upon  to  decide  what  was  the  head  of  the  Mississippi,  we  should  take, 
not  the  source  of  the  Missouri,  though  it  unites  with  the  other  stream, 
but  the  source  of  what  is.  and  has  been  called  the  Mississippi.  It  is 
not  intended  to  say  that  the  case  in  question  is  as  palpable;  but.  after 
settling  the  principle,  that,  in  ascertaining  the  head  of  a  stream  of 
a  given  name,  we  must  inquire  where  two  streams  unite,  not  which 
is  the  longest,  or  vents  the  most  water,  but  which  has  been  called 
and  known  by  the  given  name,  we  are  then  to  decide,  upon  the  best 
evidence  in  our  power,  as  to  that  fact;  and  we  think  the  evidence  is 
in  favor  of  the  stream  designated  by  Ellicott. 

Resolved,  therefore,  as  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  that,  in 
running  the  boundary  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida,  the  point 
designated  by  the  Commissioners  under  the  3d  article  of  the  treaty 
of  1795,  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  ought  to  be  the" 
termination  of  the  line  from  the  junction  of  the  Chatahoochee  and 
Flint  rivers. 


(A.) 


In  Senate,  V2th  December,  1818. 

Resolved,  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  be  requested  to  ap- 
point two  fit  and  proper  persons,  to  proceed,  without  delay,  to 
ascertain  the  true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river;  and,  if  it  shall  appear 
that  the  mound  thrown  up  by  Mr.  Ellicott  and  the  Spanish  deputa- 
tion, is  not  at  the  place  set  forth  in  the  treaty  with  Spain,  that  they 
make  a  special  report  of  the  facts  to  the  Governor,  who  shall  there- 
upon communicate  the  same  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
accompanied  with  a  request  that  the  lines  may  be  run  agreeably  to 
the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  aforesaid  treaty. 

And  >t  is  further  rcsolred.  That  the  Governor  order  out  a  suitable 
detachment  of  militia  to  protect  the  said  commissioners  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  duty. 

Approved:  19th  December,  1819. 


Executive  Department,  Georgia. 

Mittedgeville,  VI  th  February,  1819. 

Sir:  I  take  the  liberty  to  call  your  attention  to  the  subject  of 
the  contemplated  line  between  this  State  and  the  Province  of  East 
Florida,  which  you  no  doubt  recollect  is  expected  to  be  run  this 
Spring  by  the  General  Government. 

Preparations  are  making  to  commence  surveying  that  section  of 
country  in  a  short  time :  it  is,  therefore,  very  desirable  that  the  line 
should  be  defined  as  early  as  possible. 

The  Legislature  of  this  State,  at  their  late  session,  having  received 
satisfactory  information  that  the  mound  thrown  up  by  Mr.  Ellicott 
and  the  Spanish  deputation,  on  the  Okefenoke  Swamp,  is  not  the  true 
head  of  St.  Mary's  river,  as  contemplated  in  the  treaty  with  Spain, 

43064— S.  Doc.  467,  60-1 4 


12  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

directed  me  to  appoint  commissioners  to  ascertain  the  fact,  and  to 
communicate  the  result  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  with 
a  request  that  the  line  might  be  laid  out  agreeably  to  their  report. 
Majors  General  Floyd  and  Thompson,  and  Brigadier  General  Black- 
shear,  have  been  appointed  to,  and  are  now  engaged  in,  the  per- 
formance of  that  duty.  Their  report  shall  be  transmitted  to  you  as 
soon  as  I  receive  it. 

I 'have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  head  of  that  river  will  be 
found  at  least  twenty  miles  south  of  the  point  agreed  on  by  Mr. 
Ellicott  and  the  Spanish  commissioners.  Should  this  conjecture 
prove  to  a  fact,  the  State  of  Georgia,  will  be  entitled  to  the  land 
within  that  boundary,  according  to  the  treaty  with  Spain.  In  any 
event,  it  is  of  great  importance  that  one  of  those  lines  should  be 
completed  as  soon  as  circumstances  will  justify  the  measure. 

Enclosed,  I  hand  you  a  resolution  of  the  Legislature  on  the  subject. 
With  high  respect,  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant. 

WM.   RABUN. 
The  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun, 

Secretary  of  War,  Washington  City. 


Executive  Department.  Georgia. 

Milledgeville,  dd  March,  1819. 
Sir:  On  the  17th  ultimo.  I  had  the  honor  to  address  you  on  the 
subject  of  the  contemplated  line  between  this  State  and  the  Province 
of  East  Florida.  I  stated  that  the  Legislature  of  this  State  had 
directed  me  to  appoint  commissioners  to  ascertain  the  true  head  or 
source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  I  promised  to  forward  their 
report  to  you  as  soon  as  the  same  was  received.  The  commissioners 
have  returned,  and  reported,  that,  after  a  careful  examination, 
they  found  the  head  of  that  river  to  agree  with  the  report  made  by 
Mr.  Ellicott.  and  prove,  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  that  the 
information  received  by  the  Legislature  of  this  State  relative  to 
that  subject  was  incorrect.  I  flatter  myself  that  directions  will  be 
forwarded  to  Mr.  Lumpkin,  immediately,  to  close  that  line,  according 
to  the  treaty  with  Spain.  And,  if  the  General  Government  can 
afford  us  assistance  in  guarding  the  surveyors  who  will  be  engaged 
in  laying  out  the  country,  it  will  be  acknowledged  as,  a  great 
accommodation. 

I  am,  with  high  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM.    RABUN. 
Hon.  J.  C.  Calhoun, 

Secretary  of  War. 


(B.) 


In  the  year  1817,  Capt.  William  Cone,  then  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  of  Georgia,  represented,  on  his  own  knowledge  of  the 
St.  Mary's  river  that  Mr.  Ellicott  had  mistaken  its  true  head  or 
source;  and  that  an  accurate  survey  would  establish  the  fact,  that 
the  head  or  source  of  the  middle  fork  or  branch,  (perhaps  then  called 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  13 

the  South  Branch)  which  was  twenty  miles  south  of  Mr.  Ellicott's 
Mound,  would  be  found  to  be  the  true  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river, 
and  therefore  the  true  point  of  demarcation  between  the  "State  of 
Georgia  and  the  then  Spanish  province  of  East  Florida.  The  Gov- 
ernor of  Georgia  was  authorized,  by  the  Legislature,  to  appoint 
commissioners  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  facts  alleged  bv  Captain 
Cone.  The  undersigned,  with  Brigadier  General  David  Blackshear, 
were  appointed,  and  specially  instructed  by  the  Governor  of  Georgia. 
They  employed  Captain  Cone  as  a  pilot,  and,  with  a  competent 
surveyor,  caused  to  be  measured  (beginning  at  or  near  the  point 
designated  by  Ellicott  as  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river)  the  dis- 
tance from  that  point,  by  the  meanders  of  the  northwest  branch, 
to  its  junction  with  the  stream  or  branch  represented  by  Cone  to  be 
the  true  source  of  the  St.  Mary's,  and  up  the  left  bank  of  the  latter 
branch,  until  the  commissioners  reached  an  extensive  swamp,  into 
which  the  pilot,  with  two  of  the  Commissioners  (the  undersigned) 
penetrated  about  half  a  mile,  and  saw  no  water  or  water  channel. 
Capt.  Cone  was  then  directed  by  the  commissioners  to  pass -entirely 
across  the  swamp,  (to  the  pine  barren  beyond  the  swamp,)  who,  on 
his  return,  reported  that  there  was  no  stream  of  water  or  water 
channel  in  the  swamp;  and  that  we  had  reached  the  head  of  the 
branch  to  which  he  had  referred  in  the  information  given  by  him 
to  the  Legislature.  On  a  comparison  of  the  length  of  the  two  streams, 
it  was  found  that  the  latter,  from  its  junction  with  the  other  to  the 
swamp  above  referred  to,  was  much  the  shortest;  and  the  com- 
missioners consequently  reported  in  favor  of  the  former  as  the  head 
or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river. 

It  is,  however,  more  than  probable  that  the  commissioners  may 
have  been  misled  by  the  inadvertency  of  Captain  Cone,  who  pro- 
fessed to  be  intimately  acquainted  with  the  geography  of  that  part 
of  the  country,  and  on  whom  they  were  instructed  to  rely,  who  may 
have  been  diverted  from  the  principal  stream,  by  mistaking  a  branch 
of  it.  And  we,  the  undersigned,  are  inclined  to  this  belief;  first,  be- 
cause we  recollected  to  have  seen,  a  short  distance  below  the  swamp 
to  which  we  have  referred,  what  appeared  to  us,  through  thick  brush- 
wood, to  be  a  lively  little  stream,  emptying  in  through  the  opposite 
or  right  bank  of  the  southern  or  middle  fork  of  the  St.  Mary's,  which 
was  pointed  out  to  the  pilot;  who  replied,  that  the  branch  we  were 
then  pursuing  was  the  right  one;  and  because  of  the  representation 
given  by  the  survey  of  McBride. 

JOHN  FLOYD, 
WILEY  THOMPSON. 

February  29th,  1828. 

March  3,  1829. 

Mr.  White  submitted  the  following  letter  from  D.  B.  Douglass,  relat- 
ing to  the  boundary  line  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Florida. 

West  Point,  11th  February,  1829. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  was  duly  honored  with  your  note  of  the  20th  ultimo, 

requesting  information  respecting  the  official  report  of  Mr.  Ellicott, 

as  commissioner  for  executing  the  treaty  of  1795;  and  I  have  since 

employed  myself,  as  opportunity  offered,  in  searching  among  the 


14  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

correspondence  and  documents  in  my  possession,  with  a  view  of  com- 
plying, if  possible,  with  your  request. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that,  as  regards  the  report,  or  any  of  the  charts 
or  other  documents  connected  with  it.  my  search  has,  thus  far,  proved 
ineffectual.  I  find,  it  very  often  referred  to  in  different  parts  of  the 
correspondence,  particularly  that  with  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Madi- 
son, but  no  where  in  such  a  way  as  to  indicate  the  grounds,  or  any  of 
the  subject  matter  of  the  report :  and  the  most  I  can  do,  therefore,  is 
to  transcribe  a  few  extracts  from  letters  in  which  the  report  is  spoken 
of,  for  the  mere  sake  of  historical  truth,  and  in  the  hope  that  possibly 
they  may  throw  a  ray  of  light  upon  your  further  researches. 

1.  Speaking  of  his  astronomical  observations,  which  he  had  ar- 
ranged for  publication.  Mr.  Ellicott.  in  a  letter  (believed  to  have 
been  (addressed  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  dated  17th  September,  1800.  says: 
11  The  Astronomical  Journal  is  very  lengthy,  but  will  be  of  no  use  to 
the  public  till  accompanied  with,  the  charts  of  the  line.  When  these 
can  be  had  is  uncertain,  as  the  originals  w  xed  to  the  report, 
and  I  had  not  time  to  take  copies."  This  was  written  about  four 
months  after  his  return. 

2.  February  5th,  1801,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  he  says:  "  Ever 
since  I  heard  of  the  burning  of  the  Treasury  Department,  I  have  been 
alarmed  on  account  of  the  maps,  charts,  and  plans,  annexed  to  the  re- 
port respecting  our  southern  boundary,  as  I  had  not  the  privilege  of 
taking  copies,  and  they  could  not  be  replaced  but  by  sending  to 
Madrid."  And  again :  "  The  report,  by  the  third  article  of  the  treaty 
between  the  United  States  and  his  Catholic  Majesty,  was  '  to  become 
a  part  of  the  original  compact,  and  equally  binding  on  both  nations] 
and  therefore  equally  entitled  to  the  same  publicity,  but  I  do  not  see 
that  the  President  has  token  notice  of  it  in  any  of  his  messages  to  the 
two  Houses.'''' 

3.  In  another  letter,  dated  May,  1801.  he  says:  "  The  publication 
of  the  fifth  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  our  Philosophical  Socit  ty. 
will  be  delayed  for  want  of  the  charts,  or  the  copies  of  them,  annexed 
to  the  report  respecting  our  southern  boundary.  Those  charts  are 
the  originals,  and  I  intended  to  hare  replaced  them  by  copies  done  in 
a  better  style,  lent  in  this  I  hare  he,  n  disappointed" 

4.  In  another,  dated  June  4th,  1801,  he  adds,  to  the  same  effect: 
"  The  want  of  those  references  and  charts  will  delay,  for  some, 
months,  the  publication  of  the  fifth  volume  of  our  Philosophical 
Transactions,  the  letter  press  of  which  will  be  completed  this  week. 
If  I  had  supposed  that  those  papers,  or  copies  of  them,  would  have 
been  withheld  till  this  time,  I  should  havt  <  ndeavored  to  obtain, 
through  the  Spanish  Minister,  copies  of  those  sent  to  his  Court." 

5.  It  appears  from  what  follows  that  Mr.  Ellicott  must  have  been 
called  to  Washington  soon  after  the  date  of  the  preceding  extract, 
for  the  purpose  of  transcribing1  the  charts,  and  of  executing  a  fair 
copy  for  the  State  or  Treasury  Department.  On  the  18th  of  August, 
he  thus  writes,  (still  to  Mr.  Jefferson:)  "Immediately  after  my  re- 
turn from  the  city  of  ~W ashington,  I  began  the  reduction  of  my  charts 
to  a  scale  of  eight  inches  to  a  mile.  [qu.  eight  miles  to  an  inch  ?]  which 
/  find  will  be  as  small  as  they  can  be  induced,  and  at  the  same  time 
retain  all  the  waters  and  bends  or  crooks  of  the  rivers." 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  15 

6.  On  the  4th  of  September,  he  reports  the  progress  of  the  large 
map  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  on  the  10th  October  re- 
ports it  finished.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  of  the  same  date,  he 
says:  "  It  comprehends  the  Mississippi  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio 
to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  the  province  of  West  Florida,  and  the  whole 
southern  boundary  of  the  United  States,  accompanied  with  thirty- 
two  pages  of  manuscript  ,<  marks  on  the  navigation  of  the  rivers, 
proper  positions  for  military  works,  &c."  And  again :  "  /  am  anxious 
to  have  it  forwarded  as  soon  as  possible;  but  from  the  size  of  the  map, 
being  upwards  of  six  feet  north  and  south,  and  the  same  cast  and 
west,  I  fear  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  person  willing  to  take 
charge  of  it,  unless  it  was  made  his  particidar  business." 

7. *  On  the  31st  December,  1801,  in  forwarding  it  to  Mr.  Gallatin, 
he  writes  as  follows:  "/  have  forwarded,  by  tin  bearer,  Captain 
Duane,  the  map  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the  month  of  the  Ohio  to 
the  gtdf  of  Mexico,  to  which  is  added  the  south  boundary  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  whole  of  West  Florida.  In  examining  the 
map,  it  will  be  necessary  to  hav<  reference  to  the  manuscnpt  expla- 
nation, which  was  forwarded  to  the  President  some  time  ago" 
*  *  *  *  "Not  having  time  to  take  a  copy  of  the  map,  I  wish  no  person 
may  be  allowed  that  privilege  fill  I  have  time  to  do  it  myself." 

Other  extracts  might  be  furnished,  of  a  similar  character,  down  to 
the  date  last  quoted,  but  from  that  time  forth,  I  find  no  distinct  ref- 
erence to  the  subject,  nor  to  the  affairs  of  the  commission,  in  any  way, 
except  in  the  settlement  of  the  accounts. 

The  conclusion,  I  think,  is  irresistible,  from  these  extracts,  and 
from  the  whole  face  of  the  correspondence,  that  Mr.  Ellicott  made 
his  report  in  due  form,  immediately  after  his  return,  and  that  an  au- 
thentic copy  was  rendered  also  to  the  Spanish  Government,  which 
implies,  if  I  am  not  deceived,  that  it  was  the  joint  report  of  the  two 
Commissioners.  That  it  was  received  and  accredited  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States'  Government,  "as  containing  the  results  of  the 
demarcation  of  the  southern  boundary"  might  be  shown  from  many 
parts  of  the  correspondence,  particularly  the  letter  of  Mr.  Madison, 
dated  November  18th,  1801,  from  which  the  underscored  words  are 
quoted. 

If  there  was  any  deficiency,  then,  in  the  legal  execution  of  the 
treaty,  it  is  clear  to  my  mind  that  it  must  regard  some  merely  diplo- 
matic form,  or,  at  all  events,  that  it  does  not  vitiate  any  part  of  Mr. 
Ellicott's  work. 

What  has  become  of  this  report,  you  will  inquire,  since  no  remains 
of  it  are  to  be  found  in  the  Department  of  State?  From  personal 
communications  with  Mr.  Ellicott  during  his  life  time,  I  am  fully 
persuaded  that  they  were  destroyed  by  fire ;  but  at  what  time,  or  in 
what  manner,  I  cannot  now  say :  the  particulars,  if  they  were  ever 
communicated  to  me,  have  escaped  my  recollection;  but  I  distinctly 
remember  hearing  Mr.  Ellicott,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  bitterly 
lament  the  destruction  of  the  documents  and  drawings,  which  had 
cost  him  so  much  labor,  and  with  the  execution  of  which  he  had  so 
much  reason  to  be  satisfied.  Whether  all  the  papers  were  involved 
in  the  same  fate  I  cannot  say,  (have  you  sounded  the  Treasury  De- 
partment?)  nor  do  I  know  whether  the  originals  were  retained  or 


16  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

restored  after  the  fair  copy  was  made.  T  think  the  latter  was  made 
for  the  Treasury  Department,  and  that  the  former  must  have  be- 
longed to  the  Department  of  State.  There  is  a  possibility,  however, 
that  the  originals  were  retained  by  Mr.  Ellicott;  and  if  so,  his  son, 
in  the  western  part  of  this  State,  must  know  something  of  them. 
I  have  already  written  to  him  for  information,  and  as  soon  as  it  is 
received,  will  lose  no  time  in  communicating  it;  and  I  assure  you 
it  will  afford  me  great  pleasure  to  add  any  thing  to  the  little  I  have 
as  yet  gleaned  for  you. 

I  just  recollect  that  Colonel  Gadsden  once  borrowed  a  large  manu- 
script chart  of  the  St.  Mary's  from  Mr.  Ellicott.  I  presume  it  was 
returned;  but  it  furnishes  another  link  in  our  little  chain  of  infor- 
mation, which  may  be  of  some  assistance. 

I  remain,  very  sincerely,  yours, 

Colonel  White.  D.  B.  DOUGLASS. 

Documents  relating  to  the  boundary  between  Florida  and  Georgia, 
accompanying  the  President's  Message  at  the  commencement  of 
the  1st  session  of  the  20th  Congress. 

Department  or  War, 

7th  November,  1826. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  that,  by  virtue  of  the  power 
vested  in  the  President  of  the  United  States,  by  act  of  Congress, 
approved  May  4th,  1826,  and  which  provides  for  the  running  and 
marking  the  line  dividing  the  State  of  Georgia  from  the  Territory 
of  Florida,  the  President  has  appointed  you  a  commissioner,  to  act 
in  conjunction  with  a  commissioner  to  be  appointed  by  the  consti- 
tuted authorities  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  running  and  marking 
said  line.  The  act  of  Congress  itself,  defining  the  beginning  and 
termination  of  the  line,  and  the  direction  in  which  it  is  to  be  run,  I 
enclose  to  you,  herewith,  a  volume  of  acts  of  Congress  which  contains 
the  act  aforesaid,  at  pages  thirty  and  thirty-one.  for  your  govern- 
ment. 

Your  compensation  will  be  the  same  as  that  allowed  by  the  State 
of  Georgia  to  her  commissioner,  and  which  is  stated  by  Governor 
Troup,  in  his  letter  to  this  department  of  the  26th  October,  to  be 
"  eight  dollars  per  day,  including  necessary  expenses." 

You  will,  should  this  appointment  be  accepted,  signify  the  same  to 
the  department,  and  repair  immediately  to  Milledgeville  in  Georgia, 
and  state  to  his  Excellency  Governor  Troup,  your  readiness  to  enter 
upon  the  duties  embraced  in  this  trust. 

You  will  be  particular  in  keeping  a  regular  and  correct  journal  of 
your  proceedings :  and  this,  together  with  your  map  and  field  notes, 
you  will  forward,  signed  by  yourself  and  the  commissioner  who  may 
be  appointed  on  the  part  of  Geovgia.  to  this  department. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be. 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  BARBOUR. 
To  Thomas  M.  Randolph,  Sen.  Esq. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  17 

Albemarle,  Nov.  12,  1826. 

Sir:  I  had  the  satisfaction,  late  yesterday  evening,  to  receive  a 
communication  from  your  department,  under  date  of  the  7th  instant, 
with  your  signature,  announcing  to  me  that  the  President  had 
appointed  me  a  commissioner,  to  act  in  conjunction  with  a  commis- 
sioner to  be  appointed  by  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  State  of 
Georgia,  for  running  and  marking  the  line  dividing  that  State  from 
the  Territory  of  Florida.  For  this  unexpected  honor,  I  at  present 
only  return  my  very  sincere  and  most  respectful  thanks  to  yourself, 
hoping  to  have  the  further  honor  of  making  my  acknowledgments 
to  the  President,  when  I  shall  have  the  good  fortune  to  have  fulfilled 
his  commission  to  his  satisfaction.  I  should  be  unworthy  of  the 
respect  shown  me  in  this  matter,  if  I  were  to  accept  the  commission 
precipitately  and  inconsiderately,  without  any  instruction  from  the 
department  entrusted  with  the  execution  of  this  law,  or  any  intima- 
tion of  the  President's  views  with  regard  to  the  manner  of  proceed- 
ing in  the  case.  The  President's  perfect  knowledge  of  the  infallible 
geometrical  principles,  according  to  which  such  a  work  must  be  per- 
formed, makes  me  more  anxious  to  learn  what  his  thoughts  are  as 
to  the  plan  of  the  technical  and  scientific  processes  requisite.  My 
idea,  in  the  very  first  moment,  was  to  propose  to  the  Commissioner 
of  Georgia  to  have  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  junction  of  the 
rivers  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  determined  with  precision,  and  also 
that  of  the  point  designated  as  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river  by 
the  Commissioners  under  the  treaty  with  Spain  of  1795.  That  done 
to  the  satisfaction  of  both,  then  for  them  to  separate  and  commence 
running  and  marking  the  line  from  opposite  extremities  at  the  same 
time,  until  they  meet  in  a  middle  point;  the  latitude  and  longitude 
of  which  should  also  be  determined  with  the  utmost  precision;  and 
the  line  is,  I  believe  not  westward  and  eastward  only,  but  crosses 
many  fractional  parallels  of  latitude;  if  it  should  not  extend  to  a 
degree.  Afterwards,  if  required  by  either,  that  each  commissioner 
should  run  over  again  that  part  of  the  line  run  by  the  other.  All 
elevations  and  depressions  of  the  surface  should  of  course  be  accu- 
rately measured,  and  such  notice  taken,  chorographical  and  topo- 
graphical, as  can  be  done,  en  passant.  If  I  did  not  know  the  consid- 
erate disposition  of  the  personage  to  whom  I  have  now  the  honor  of 
addressing  myself,  I  should  not  venture  to  ask  if  it  is  likely  that  the 
President  will  appoint  a  surveyor  himself,  or  will  leave  that  to  the 
discretion  of  the  Commissioner,  in  faith  that,  if  he  should  find  it 
requisite,  the  President  will  adopt  his  opinion,  which  would  entitle 
the  person  so  engaged  by  him  to  such  compensation  as  Georgia  may 
grant  to  her  surveyor  on  this  occasion.  The  surveyor  should  under- 
stand taking  latitudes  and  longitudes  as  well  as  running  out  courses 
and  measuring  distances  accurately;  and  should  have  fit  instruments 
for  the  former  purpose  besides.  I  cannot  refrain  from  suggesting 
that  the  persons  to  be  employed  as  chain  carriers,  on  such  an  occa- 
sion, ought  not,  perhaps,  to  be  taken  all  from  the  State;  and,  of 
course,  that  an  authority  to  the  Commissioner  for  engaging  elsewhere 
the  requisite  assistants,  and  defraying  their  traveling  expenses,  might 
not  meet  the  disapprobation  of  the  President. 

I  am  sir,  &c. 

TH.  M.  RANDOLPH,  Sen. 

James  Barbour,  Esq.  dec. 


18  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

Department  of  War, 

17th  November,  1826. 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of 
the  12th  instant,  and  have  submitted  the  same  to  the  President,  The 
President  sees  no  exception  to  your  suggestion,  as  to  the  mode  of  pro- 
ceeding in  the  execution  of  the  trust  reposed  in  you  as  Commissioner. 
A  surveyor  will  be  appointed  by  the  President,  and  directed  to  report 
to  the  Commissioners  at  Milledgeville.  Upon  him.  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Commissioners,  the  duty  will  devolve  of  procuring  the 
necessary  attendance  in  chain-carriers.  &c. 

I  will  issue  a  requisition  in  your  favor,  to  be  remitted  to  you.  at 
Everettsville.  by  the  Treasurer.'  for  three  hundred  dollars,  under  the 
provision  of  the  first  section  of  the  act  concerning  the  disbursements 
of  the  public  money,  for  which  you  will  be  held  accountable  on  the 
settlement  of  your  account  for  salary  as  Commissioner. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c. 

JAMES  BARBOUR. 
To  Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  Sen.  Esq. 


North  Milton,  in  Albemarle,  Va. 

Near  Everettsville  P.  O.  Nov.  22.  1826. 

Sir  :  I  have  this  moment  had  the  honor  to  receive  the  letter  from 
your  department,  of  date  17th  instant, 

I  hope  I  shall  be  pardoned  for  soliciting  to  have  the  favor  done  me 
of  informing  the  Governor  of  Georgia,  in  the  first  communication 
made  him  on  this  subject,  that,  on  Monday,  November  13th,  I  held 
myself  ready  to  obey  orders  from  your  department  relative  to  this 
commission.  It  has  been  my  main  business  since  to  revive  in  my 
memory  the  information  requisite  for  fulfilling  the  object  well,  even 
in  the  case  that  the  President  might  not  have  thought  it  necessary  to 
appoint  a  surveyor;  which  determination  is  entirely  satisfactory  to 
me,  independent  of  the  high  and  willing  deference  to  his  judgment, 
by  no  means  new  in  my  mind. 

If  the  clerk  in  your  department,  who  encloses  to  me  at  Everettsville 
the  requisition  on  the  Treasury,  mentioned  in  the  letter  of  the  17th, 
would  take  the  trouble  to  inform  me  who  the  Surveyor  is,  and  when 
he  is  likely  to  leave  Washington  for  Milledgeville,  it  would  be  thank- 
fully received. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir.  &c. 

TH.  M.  RANDOLPH,  Sen. 
James  Barbour,  Esq. 

Secretary,  c&c. 


Department  of  War. 

November  23,  1826. 
Sir  :  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  22d  instant,  I  have  the  honor  to 
inform  you  that  a  requisition  in  your  favor  was  issued  on  the  day  of 
the  date  of  my  last  letter,  and  that  a  note  accompanied  it,  requesting 
it  of  the  Treasury  Department  to  remit  the  amount,  to  wit,  $300,  to 
you  at  Everettsville,  which,  it  is  presumed,  has  been  done. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  19 

Since  my  letter  of  the  17th  instant,  and  on  further  reflection,  it  is 
determined  to  leave  the  selection  of  a  Surveyor  to  you.  You  will, 
therefore  exercise  your  discretion  in  appointing  a  competent  person, 
and,  through  him.  the  necessar}T  attendants.  His  compensation  will 
be  at  the  rate  of  5  dollars  a  day,  whilst  actually  employed,  and  his 
necessary  expenses  borne.  His  account,  both  for  the  time  in  which  he 
may  be  engaged  in  the  service,  and  for  his  expenses,  will  be  accom- 
panied by  your  certificates,  as  Commissioners,  of  its  correctness.  You 
will  regard  the  appropriation  made  by  Congress  in  carrying  into  effect 
this  trust,  and  in  no  case  exceed  it.  It  is  desirable  that  every  atten- 
tion be  paid  to  making  the  undertaking  economical,  and  as  much  be- 
low the  appropriation  as  possible. 

Governor  Troup  has  been  already  advised  of  your  appointment. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be.  &c. 

JAMES  BARBOUR. 
To  Thomas  Mann  Randolph,  Sen.  Esq. 

6  r.  m.  December  16,  1826. 

Sir:  I  had  the  honor  of  addressing  a  letter  to  you  at  a  somewhat 
earlier  hour  of  this  day.  since  which  I  have  ascertained  that  I  shall  be 
disappointed  entirely  in  nry  hope  of  getting  a  copj-  of  the  treaty  made 
between  the  United  States  and  Spain  at  San  Lorenzo  el  Real,  on  27th 
October,  1795;  and  also  of  what  is  much  more  important  to  me,  a 
cop}^  of  the  report  made  by  the  commissioners  appointed  under  the 
third  article  of  the  said  treaty,  "  designating  "  a  point  as  the  head  of 
the  St.  Mary's  river,  which  is  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  boundary 
line  to  be  run.  The  term  "  designate  "  from  the  first  moment,  con- 
vinced me  that  I  could  not  proceed  without  the  documents  here  men- 
tioned, but  I  unluckily  thought  I  was  very  sure  of  procuring  them 
immediately,  vet  have  failed  there  and  elsewhere,  so  as  to  be  compelled 
to  ask  the  favor  of  you  to  order  them  to  be  sent  on  to  me  at  Richmond 
by  the  first  mail  after  this  has  arrived.  The  term  "  designate  "  being 
a  little  vague.  I  know  not  whether  the  point  constituting  the  eastern 
extremity  of  the  line  may  have  been  marked  in  some  permanent  way, 
or  only  described  as  the  head  spring,  at  the  intersection  of  a  certain 
meridian  and  parallel,  which  may  not  correspond  with  the  result  of 
my  observations  and  calculations;  in  which  case,  another  head  spring 
being  nearer  to  them,  the  Commissioners  may  be  at  a  loss.  If  the 
expression  of  the  treaty  should  in  fact  be  vague,  as  I  have  supposed 
possible,  and  the  report  should  not  have  completely  removed  the  diffi- 
culty, I  beg  to  have  instructions  as  to  the  ground  I  am  to  take  in  the 
conference  with  the  other  Commissioner.  V\7ithin  an  hour  I  have  been 
informed  who  he  is,  and  where  he  resides,  viz :  at  the  mouth  of  St. 
Mary's,  in  the  town  of  Darien,  which  information  creates  a  little 
doubt  where  I  shall  find  him  so  as  to  be  on  the  line  by  the  19th  Jan- 
uary. I  have  only  to  repeat  my  assurances  of  all  possible  efforts  to 
be  expeditious,  accurate,  economical,  and  accommodating  to  the  other 
party,  in  everything  relating  to  my  mission. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  yours,  &c. 

TH.  M.  RANDOLPH, 

Commissioner,  dec. 

James  Barbour,  Esq. 

Secretary  of  War,  <&c. 


20  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

Department  or  War, 

23d  December,  1826. 
Sir:  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  two  letters  of  the  16th 
inst.  In  regard  to  all  the  details  having  reference  to  the  survey, 
whether  these  relate  to  the  selection  of  a  surveyor  or  other  matters 
connected  with  the  execution  of  the  trust  confided  to  you.  they  are 
referred  by  the  President  to  your  agency  and  discretion.  I  have  ad- 
dressed a  note  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  requesting  the  copies  of  the 
treaty  of  San  Lorenzo  el  Keal,  of  the  27th  October,  1795,  and  the 
report  of  the  Commissioners  apointed  under  the  third  article  of  said 
treaty.  The  moment  these  are  prepared  and  received  they  will  be 
forwarded  to  you,  directed  to  Milledgeville,  in  Georgia. 
I  have  the  honor.  &c. 

JAMES  BARBOUR. 
To  Thomas  M.  Randolph,  Esq 


Milledgeville,  Feb.  2d,  1827. 

Sir:  I  arrived  here  yesterday,  in  eighteen  days  from  Richmond, 
which  place  I  could  not  leave  earlier  than  about  noon  of  January  14th, 
from  a  variety  of  circumstances  beyond  my  control.  Indeed,  the  ac- 
counts of  Indian  disturbances  on  the  line  between  Georgia  and  East 
Florida,  by  rendering  it  doubtful,  for  a  short  time,  whether  the  Com- 
missioners could  proceed  in  their  route,  if  arrived,  seem  to  me  fully 
to  justify  the  short  delay  I  made,  in  weather  of  almost  unexampled 
severity  as  to  cold,  while  suffering  an  indisposition  infinitely  the  most 
serious  for  eleven  years  back. 

I  found  lying  at  the  post  office  here  a  packet  for  me  containing, 
relative  to  the  claim  of  Baley  for  Indian  rations,  several  papers,  to 
the  subject  of  which  I  shall  devote  a  very  particular  attention  before 
I  leave  Georgia,  and  shall  forward  a  report  containing  all  the  infor- 
mation I  can  obtain,  and  my  opinion  as  soon  as  the  duty  of  running 
the  line  will  permit  me.  The  important  packet,  containing  the  papers 
from  the  Department  of  State,  mentioned  in  the  communication  from 
'that  over  which  you  preside,  dated  December  23d,  has  yet  not  reached 
me.  The  report  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  under  the  third  ar- 
ticle of  the  treaty  of  San  Lorenzo  el  Real  is  a  document  without  which 
these  Commissioners  cannot  well  proceed.  Since  I  had  the  honor 
last  to  address  the  department,  I  have  seen  that  treaty,  and  have  pro- 
cured a  copy  of  A.  Ellicott's  journal,  from  which  I  have  tho  first  in- 
formation that  the  two  extremities  of  the  line  to  be  run  have  been 
geographically  determined,  and  the  eastern,  which  was  not  certainly 
indicated  by  the  treaty,  actually  marked,  so  as  to  be  readily  and  surely 
discoverable  at  this  time.  But  I  have  no  evidence  that  the  report 
made  jointly  by  the  two  Commissioners,  which,  by  a  provision  in  the 
treaty,  was  to  make  a  part  of  it,  and,  of  course,  is  now  binding  upon 
the  United  States  and  Georgia,  does  correspond  fully  with  what  is 
stated  in  the  journal.  Still  I  cannot  entertain  a  doubt  about  that 
correspondence,  as  the  journal  was  prepared  for  the  press  after  the 
report  had  been  received  and  acknowledged  by  the  two  Governments. 
Upon  finding  that  the  packet  expected  in  consequence  of  the  communi- 
cation to  me  from  the  Department  of  War.  of  December  23d,  had  not 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  21 

arrived,  I  immediately  inquired  of  the  Governor  here  whether  the 
State  or  any  individual  possessed  the  report  in  question,  and  am  in- 
formed that  it  cannot  be  procured  here.  On  that  occasion,  I  found 
that  the  journal  of  the  United  States'  Commissioner,  Ellicott,  was 
here  considered  as  sufficiently  authentic,  and  that  it  was  expected  I 
should  proceed,  "  in  conjunction  with  the  representative  of  the  con- 
stituted authorities  of  Georgia,"  to  run  a  straight  line  from  the  mound 
thrown  up  by  the  two  Commissioners  at  the  outlet  of  the  waters  of 
the  Okefenoke  swamp  into  the  St.  Mary's  river,  to  the  junction  be- 
tween the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  branches  of  the  Apalachicola 
river,  which  line  was  to  constitute  the  permanent  boundary  between 
the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida.  The  Commis- 
sioner for  Georgia  is  at  his  residence  in  Darien,  one  hundred  and 
seventy  miles  from  this  place.  I  shall  set  out  for  that  place  on  Sun- 
day or  Monday  next,  my  horses  requiring  that  much  rest  before  I 
can  resume  my  journey,  with  certainty  of  the  performance  from  them 
which  is  requisite.  I  have  only  to  assure  the  department  that  there 
shall  be  no  want  of  diligence  or  fidelity  on  my  part  upon  the  occasion ; 
but  I  cannot  omit  to  remark  that  the  expense  of  the  work  must  be 
greatly  increased  from  the  necessity  of  proceeding  without  money, 
there  being  only  eighty  dollars  in  my  hands  at  present.  If  the  report 
of  the  Commissioners  in  1800  should  not  reach  me  in  time,  I  shall  be 
under  the  necessity  of  proceeding  by  Ellicott's  journal,  but  shall  be 
very  exact  in  the  application  of  the  information  it  contains,  as  a  very 
little  deviation  might  leave  on  the  Georgia  side  of  the  line  some  of  the 
most  valuable  parts  of  the  great  Okefenoke  swamp;  in  which,  besides 
its  capacity  to  undergo  general  draining,  there  are  some  of  the  most 
fertile  lands  of  all  the  south,  appearing  like  islands,  or  rather  oases,  in 
the  marshy  desert.  Nothing  requisite  shall  be  neglected  so  as  to  allow 
of  any  disagreement  between  that  terrestrial  arc  of  a  circle,  which  is 
already  the  geographical  line,  and  the  future  boundary  of  jurisdic- 
tion, its  constituent,  which  is  now  to  be  traced  and  marked.  The 
eastern  extremity  is  considered  here  to  be  in  latitude  30°  34'  48". 
I  am  not  yet  informed  what  means  are  contemplated  by  the  Georgia 
party  for  correcting  the  compass  line,  so  as  to  ensure  its  correspond- 
ence with  the  terrestrial  arc;  but  I  cannot  hear  of  any  astronomical 
instruments  for  the  purpose  being  in  their  possession,  nor  does  it 
seem  to  be  expected  here  that  any  such  means  will  be  used.  I  do  not 
pretend  to  be  a  practical  astronomer,  having  never  had  it  in  my  power 
to  procure  the  necessary  instruments  to  qualify  nryself ;  but  I  have 
a  sufficient  acquaintance  with  the  theory  of  the  science  to  enable  me 
to  detect  all  errors,  and,  of  course,  to  guard  against  them.  Nothing 
whatever,  in  the  guise  of  advantage,  or  of  the  still  greater  temptation, 
relief,  could  induce  me  to  undertake  what  I  did  not  feel  an  entire 
consciousness  of  the  capacity  to  perform.  If  I  had  escaped  malicious 
insinuations,  predictions,  and  constructions,  I  should  have  been  sur- 
prised, in  the  actual  state  of  our  public  morals.  It  shall  be  my  care 
to  ensure  the  falsity  of  that  future  malice  which  I  must  as  certainly 
incur  as  I  live. 

Very  respectfully, 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

THOS.  M.  RANDOLPH. 
The  Secretary  of  War. 


22  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

Darien,  Georgia,  Feb.  14,  1827. 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that,  after  waiting  at  Mill- 
edgeville  from  Thursday  1st  to  Thursday  8th  instant,  in  the  hope  of 
receiving  a  despatch  containing  the  report  of  Andrew  Ellicott  and 
Don  Estevan  Minor,  made  to  "Government  by  the  former  in  1800, 
which  still  appears  to  me  to  be  the  only  authentic  document  upon 
which  the  present  Commissioners  for  running  the  same  boundaiy  line 
can  proceed,  with  entire  satisfaction  to  themselves,  as  the  result  of 
those  operations,  as  far  as  it  could  then  be  obtained,  is  obligatory  and 
final.  I  repaired  to  this  place.  Having  now  a  strong  belief  that  the 
packet,  with  its  important  enclosure,  has  some  way  miscarried.  I 
have  been  engaged  since  Monday  evening,  the  12th  instant,  when  I 
first  saw  Mr.  Spalding,  in  making  arrangements  for  proceeding  im- 
mediately to  the  performance  of  our  duty.  A  copy  of  the  proceed- 
ings necessary  lief  ore  the  actual  commencement  of  the  work,  in  the 
form  in  which  they  really  took  place  between  us,  of  questions,  rea- 
sonings, and  decisions,  will  be  forwarded  to  your  department  by  the 
next  mail.  The  Georgia  Commissioner,  by  a  negociation  with  the 
bank  of  Darien,  made  upon  Tuesday  the  13th  instant,  has  provided 
the  funds  requisite  for  commencement  and  it  has  been  agreed  that  the 
work  shall  be  performed  at  joint  charge  of  the  two  Governments,  by 
a  single  party  under  the  control  of  the  two  Commissioners,  acting 
in  conjunction,  with  precisely  equal  powers.  I  had  the  good  fortune 
to  procure  in  Richmond  the  journal  of  Andrew  Ellicott,  which  is 
completely  in  detail,  and  was  prepared  by  him  for  the  press  after  the 
report  was  made.  I  have  no  hesitation,  under  the  actual  circum- 
stances, to  consider  as  entirely  authentic  what  he  there  says  was  the 
result  of  the  joint  operations  of  the  two  Commissioners,  and  the  final 
agreement  between  them.  I  am  already  assured  of  the  complete 
ostensibility  of  the  mark  which  Ellicott  says,  in  his  journal,  was 
made  in  presence  of  the  two  Commissioners,  by  their  joint  order,  to 
designate  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  line.  We  have  nothing,  there- 
fore, to  do  but  to  run  it  so  that  it  shall  coincide,  as  nearly  as  we  can 
possibly  make  it.  with  the  present  geographical  line,  they  are  of  a 
terrestrial  great  circle,  never  yet  traced  and  marked.  From  all  the 
accounts  hitherto  received  by  us,  the  Okefenoke  Swamp  is  absolutely 
impenetrable  by  men  bearing  compass  and  chain,  without  first  open- 
ing a  vista  and  then  making  a  footbridge.  We  expect  to  have  to  de- 
pend upon  a  traverse,  as  we  are  not  authorized  to  proceed  in  that  only 
complete  but  very  expensive  way.  A  competent  surveyor  could  not 
be  procured  in  Georgia  for  less  than  eight  dollars  a  day,  all  expenses 
paid  besides.  I  could  have  brought  one  from  Virginia  far  superior 
to  the  best  in  this  State  for  five  dollars.  Having,  with  much  pains, 
satisfied  myself  of  the  thorough  competency  of  the  surveyor  ap- 
pointed by  the  authorities  of  Georgia,  I  have  consented  to  accept  of 
him.  although  he  is  not  at  all  an  astronomer,  and  must  proceed  by 
geometrical  means  alone,  unconnected  by  any  astronomical  operation, 
which  may  answer  sufficiently  well  on  the  present  occasion.  His  de- 
mand was  ten  dollars  per  diem,  but  I  cannot  consent  to  give  more 
than  four  dollars  for  his  compensation  from  the  United  States.  The 
men  requisite  will  be  engaged  from  one  dollar  a  day  to  twenty  dol- 
lars the  month,  with  the  exception  of  two  of  a  superior  order,  whose 
services  cannot  be  dispensed  with.  The  whole  provisions  and  other 
equipments  must  be  procured  in  Savannah,  and  steps  are  already 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  23 

taken  for  that  purpose.  Nothing  whatever  can  be  had  in  or  near 
the  country  through  which  the  line  runs,  to  which  we  shall  be  con- 
fined at  least  three  months.  We  could  not  make  our  preparations, 
even  with  a  smaller  sum  than  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  Mr.  Spalding 
has  procured  a  larger  accommodation,  and  there  will  be  considerable 
saving  from  his  success  in  that  measure.  We  concur  fully  in  the  dis- 
position and  determination  to  use  all  possible  economy,  and,  neces- 
sary to  that,  all  the  despatch  possible  consistent  with  accuracy. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant. 

TH.  M.  RANDOLPH, 

( 'ommissiont  r.  <&c. 
Hon.  James  Barbour,  St  c'v  of  War. 


Darien,  February  28,  1827. 
Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  that  the  party  destined  to 
run  the  line  between  the  United  States'  Territory  of  East  Florida 
and  the  State  of  Georgia,  has  left  Darien,  fully  equipped  and  pro- 
vided for  that  purpose  at  the  expense  of  Georgia ;  one  half  of  all 
charges  incurred  to  be  defrayed  by  the  United  States'  Government, 
provided  the  moiety  do  not  exceed  the  appropriation  made  by  Con- 
gress on  this  occasion. 

I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  a  transcript  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
two  Commissioners  forming  a  board  for  the  purpose  in  question,  and 
to  beg  your  attention  to  it  at  your  leisure. 

My  last  communication  from  you  is  dated  December  23,  1826. 
I  am.  sir. 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

TH.  M.  RANDOLPH, 

Commissioner \  &c. 
The  Hon.  James  Barbour,  Sec'y  of  War. 


Monday,  February  12,  1827.  Governor  Randolph,  Commissioner 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  for  establishing  the  boundary  line 
between  Georgia  and  Florida,  arrived  at  Darien. 

Mr.  Spalding,  the  Commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  State  of  Georgia, 
waited  upon  him,  when,  after  deliberation,  the  following  prelimi- 
nary points  were  settled,  without  doubt  or  contrariety  of  opinion. 

1st.  We  will  commence  running  the  line  of  separation  between 
Georgia  and  Florida  at  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's. 

2d.  There  shall  be  but  one  surveyor  employed. 

3d.  We  will  engage  from  fifteen  to  twenty  men  for  our  various 
operations,  as  we  may  find  necessary  in  the  progress  of  our  under- 
taking. 

4th.  We  shall  provision  them  for  the  whole  operation  at  this  place. 

5th.  We  will  employ  for  the  transport  of  our  provisions,  light 
wagons. 

6th.  We  will  make  our  preparations  at  all  points  at  the  joint  ex- 
pense of  the  United  States  and  the  State  of  Georgia. 


24  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

7th.  It  will  be  necessary  to  provide  the  sum  of  two  thousand  dollars 
for  the  procuring  of  provisions  and  equipments  for  the  Commis- 
sioners and  the  gentlemen  that  accompanying  them;  for  the  surveyor 
and  men  under  him. 

8th.  It  will  be  necessary  to  provide  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars 
to  meet  the  accidents  to  which  every  human  operation  is  subject, 
without  being  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  sending  back  for  those  aids 
after  they  have  become  necessar}\ 

9th.  Mr.  Spalding,  the  Commissioner  for  Georgia,  will  draw  upon 
his  Excellency,  Governor  Troup,  through  the  Bank  of  Darien.  The 
Commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  engaging  on  the  part 
of  the  United  States,  to  refund  a  moiety  of  such  advance  to  Georgia. 

The  Commissioners  then  proceeded  to  nominate  John  Randolph, 
Esq.  commissary  and  commandant  of  the  party,  with  power  to  regu- 
late and  direct  the  police  of  the  camp. 

They  nominated  John  G.  Bell  secretary  and  accomptant,  and  deter- 
mined that  these  gentlemen  should  receive  a  compensation  for  their 
services. 

When  the  Board  adjourned. 

Extract  from  the  minutes. 

J.  G.  BELL, 
Secretary  to  the  Commissioners. 

Answer  to  the  first  query,  viz:  Shall  we  commence  running  the 
line  of  separation  between  Georgia  and  Florida  on  the  St.  Mary's 
or  at  the  Chattahoochie? 

If  the  Okefenoke  Swamp  be  penetrable  at  all,  by  a  surveying  party, 
which  is  not  authorized  to  incur  the  expense  of  cutting  a  vista  through 
it,  commencement  should  be  made  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the 
boundary  line :  for  the  earlier,  after  this  time  of  the  year,  the  attempt 
is  made,  the  less  difficulty,  risk,  ami  labor  will  attend  it.  and  the 
greater  the  probable  accuracy  of  the  operations  to  be  performed. 

The  season  will  be  too  far  advanced  to  allow  of  any  such  attempt, 
when  the  line  has  been  first  extended  from  the  western  extremity  to 
the  western  margin  of  the  Okefenoke.  The  time  requisite  to  reach 
the  mouth  of  Flint.  300  miles  from  Darien.  along  the  zigzag  course 
Avhich  must  be  pursued,  there  being  no  direct  route  thither,  may  per- 
haps be  better  employed  in  proceeding  more  slowly  and  more  exactly 
in  running  the  line  from  the  eastern  extremity  at  once.  The  saving 
of  that  time  will  give  more  leisure  for  the  most  difficult  part  of  the 
work,  of  which  a  greater  degree  of  accuracy  will  be  the  sure  effect, 
and  the  healthier  early  season  will  render  hurry  unnecessary.  The 
present  is  the  exact  time  for  such  operations.  Upon  such  ground  as 
the  swamp,  the  water  will  be  sufficiently  warm  for  wading,  and  the 
foliage  greatly  thinner  now  than  later.  Again,  if  the  Okefenoke  be 
absolutely  impenetrable  with  compass  and  chain,  and  the  intention 
to  run  the  line  through  it  be  accordingly  found  altogether  impracti- 
cable, the  fact  can  be  determined  only  by  going  there  and  making  the 
experiment ;  in  which  case,  very  certainly  it  will  be  most  advisable 
to  make  a  traverse,  and  find  thereby  the  point  at  which  the  line  would 
have  come  out  of  the  swamp,  if  it  had  been  run  through  it,  so  as  to 
give  the  power  of  proceeding  westward  at  once.  In  that  case,  the 
random  or  guide  line  will  probably  diverge  more  from  the  true  line 
than  if  it  had  begun  at  that  end  where  no  traverse  is  necessary.     But, 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  25 

if  that  should  be  the  result,  as  is  highly  probable,  the  greater  accu- 
racy so  attained  in  running*  cannot  be  demonstrated  without  con- 
tinuing on  to  the  end,  which  the  case  supposes  cannot  be  done,  and 
the  advantage  ma}'  be  lost  in  the  traverse,  so  as  at  last  to  leave  a 
doubt  whether  the  line  actually  run  will,  if  ever  it  should  be  con- 
tinued throughout  by  a  broad  vista  and  foot-bridge,  strike  the  point 
designated  as  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  or  not.  It  would 
not  be  determined,  with  sufficient  certainty,  what  the  deviation  had 
been,  nor  whether  the  error  had  been  made  in  coming  on  from  the 
Chattahoochie  to  the  western  margin  of  the  swamp,  or  in  the  traverse 
made  to  find  where  the  line  ought  to  come  out  of  the  swamp,  on  the 
east  side  of  it:  upon  which  grounds,  I  give  it  as  my  opinion  that  we 
should  begin  at  the  point  designated  by  Ellicott  and  Minor  as  the 
head  of  St.  Mary's  as  near  as  they  could  approach  it,  taking  care  to 
consider  the  point  designated  as  the  true  head,  source,  origin,  and  not 
the  point  marked  by  a  mound,  as  the  point  of  our  commencement ; 
that  we  should  calculate  our  course  from  the  latitudes  and  longi- 
tudes of  the  two  ends,  as  given  by  the  said  Commissioners,  and  pro- 
ceed upon  that  course,  making  the  correction  requisite  as  we  proceed, 
to  the  Chattahoochie,  whence  we  should  return,  correcting  and  mark- 
ing the  line  in  our  progress,  until  we  reach  the  absolutely  impene- 
trable part  of  the  Okefenoke,  where  we  should  erect  a  durable  monu- 
ment of  some  kind,  and  another  such  where  our  line,  by  computation, 
should  come  out  of  the  impenetrable  part  of  the  swamp  on  the  east 
side  thereof,  taking  care,  at  the  same  time,  to  renew  Ellicott  and 
Minor's  mark. 

Answer  to  the  second  question:  .Should  there  be  one  or  two  sur- 
veyors employed  \ 

I  am  not  of  opinion  that  more  than  one  can  be  employed  at  one 
time,  if  the  two  parties  act  in  conjunction,  literally,  according  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  language  of  the  law  of  the  United  States  upon 
this  subject,  acquiesced  in  by  the  Commissioner  of  Georgia.  I  find 
that  a  surveyor  fit  for  the  purpose  cannot  be  engaged  in  Georgia  for 
the  compensation  allowed  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 
I  have  satisfied  myself  fully,  with  much  pains,  that  the  one  appointed 
by  the  authorities  of  Ge  >rgia  is  entirely  competent  every  way.  I  am 
willing  to  take  his  place  myself  for  a  time,  should  any  accident  hap- 
pen to  suspend  his  progress  in  the  work:  so  that  it  shall  not  stop,  but 
shall  be  kept  in  progress  until  he  can  resume  his  functions.  I  have 
no  objection  to  fixing  his  compensation  at  eight  dollars  a  day  during 
all  the  time  he  is  employed,  provided  one-half  of  that  compensation 
be  paid  by  Georgia;  the  other  half  by  the  United  States.  I  think 
that  all  his  expenses  must  necessarily  be  borne,  besides  his  compensa- 
tion, at  the  joint  charge  of  the  two  Governments. 

Answer  to  the  third  question:  What  number  of  men  shall  be  en- 
gaged ? 

In  addition  to  the  number  required  by  the  surveyor,  which  cannot 
possibly  be  fewer  than  two  chain-carriers,  four  pioneers,  and  three 
signal  bearers — in  all  nine,  there  should  be,  in  my  opinion,  four  super- 
numeraries armed  with  rifles :  two  to  hunt  every  day  alternately,  to 
procure  fresh  meat  for  the  party;  the  other  two  to  attend  as  a  guard 
against  the  insolence  and  pilfering  of  the  strolling  Indians. 

These  men  should  be  engaged  to  take  the  places  of  the  surveyor's 
attendants,  whenever  fatigue,  accident,  or  indisposition  may  disable 


26  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

any  of  them.  They  should  be  hired  by  the  month,  at  a  rate  not  over 
$20.  Of  course  there  must  be  drivers  to  the  wagons  used  in  the  trans- 
portation of  provisions  and  camp  equipage  for  the  Commissioners, 
surveyor,  and  men  of  all  kinds  of  service.  Such  a  party,  employed 
for  a  purpose  which  keeps  them  for  several  months  in  an  unsettled 
country,  manifestly  needs  one  gentleman  to  act  as  commissary  for 
procuring,  preserving,  and  issuing  the  necessary  stores,  and  another 
to  act  as  secretary  and  accomptant :  the  two  to  exercise  authority  over 
the  men  at  all  times  when  on  their  daily  duty,  so  as  to  prevent  dis- 
orderly conduct,  or  strolling,  or  negligence  in  what  may  be  required 
of  them  at  such  times,  and  to  see  that  they  observe  the  rules  declared 
in  the  articles  of  agreement  for  service  made  with  them  by  the  Com- 
missioners. Upon  the  commissary  will  depend  the  attendance,  as  far 
as  practicable,  of  the  provision  wagons,  the  drawing  of  supplies  from 
them,  the  preparations  for  encampment  every  night,  and  diet  at  the 
proper  times. 

It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  secretary  to  make  out,  every  night,  a  cor- 
rect copy  for  each  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  surveyor's  field  book 
for  the  day,  that  the}"  may  know  with  certainty  how  the  work  is  pro- 
ceeding in  regard  to  accuracy.  A  necessity  might  arise  for  holding 
intercourse  with  the  Indians,  who  are  numerous  not  far  from  the 
line  towards  the  western  end,  in  which  case,  such  an  officer  as  the  last 
mentioned  would  be  wanted. 

Surveyor's  attendants  9 ;  supernumeraries,  to  serve  as  guard  and 
hunters,  alternately,  4;  officers  2;  wagoners  and  one  cook  will  be 
wanting. 

The  above  is  respectiully  submitted,  in  part,  to  Mr.  Spalding,  by 
his  most  obedient  humble  servant. 

THOS.  M.  RANDOLPH, 

Commissioner,  &c. 
Wednesday,  Feb.  14,  1S27.  Darien. 

Fourth  Query.  Shall  we  provision  for  the  whole  operation  at  this 
place,  and  for  how  long? 

T.  M.  Randolph  acknowledges  himself  unable  to  give  an  opinion 
upon  this  question,  and  leaves  the  decision  upon  it  entirely  to  the  bet- 
ter judgment  and  information  of  Mr.  Spalding.  All  that  he  has 
been  able  to  learn  on  the  road  through  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia 
tends  to  convince  that  such  a  party  as  is  indispensably  necessary  on 
this  occasion  must  be  provisioned  beforehand,  or  subsist  upon  game 
killed  in  the  woods  through  which  the  line  is  to  be  run :  for  the 
country  is  all  new,  and.  as  yet,  but  little  cultivated;  much  the  smaller 
part  of  every  crop  actually  made  furnishes  food  for  man:  continued 
emigration  to  places  near  keeps  all  such  articles  constantly  up  to  a 
high  price.  The  troops  lately  sent  to  suppress  the  Indian  insurrec- 
tion in  the  same  country  must  have  consumed  all  that  could  be  had, 
far  and  near,  within  their  or  our  reach.  If  the  provisions  are  to  be 
procured  so  as  to  be  carried  out  with  the  men,  the  place  of  the  greatest 
trade  nearest  to  the  rendezvous  at  Darien  must,  of  course,  be  the  best 
for  that  purpose.  If  the  party  is  to  rely  upon  game  for  subsistence, 
it  will  inevitably  disperse  before  the  work  can  be  half  finished.* 

*  In  answer  to  the  inquiry,  "  and  for  how  long.''  the  Commissioner  of  the 
United  States  can  only  say,  that  he  will  concur  with  Mr.  Spalding  and  the  sur- 
veyor, Mr.  McBride,  in  whatever  opinion  they  may  together  form  upon  that 
point,  not  exceeding  three  months. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  27 

Fifth  Question.  Shall  we  employ  for  transport  light  wagons  or 
pack-horses? 

The  former  seems  preferable,  because  half  the  number  of  horses 
will  answer;  and  if  it  should  be  found  that  the  wagons  cannot  always 
accompany  the  party,  still  they  can  always  keep  near  enough  to  pack 
from  them  to  it.  upon  the  same  horses,  the  supplies  necessary  for  daily 
consumption. 

Sixth.  Shall  we  make  our  preparations  in  all  points  with  joint 
expense? 

Answer.  The  United  States1  Commissioner,  in  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion, lays  before  Mr.  Spalding  the  law  of  the  United  States  oji  this 
subject,  and  the  letters  to  him  from  the  Secretary  of  War. 

The  second  section  of  the  act  requires  a  joint  report  upon  the  opera- 
tions necessary  for  the  purpose  intended,  and  the  result,  after  the  same 
shall  have  been  performed,  and  obtained  by  the  persons  employed  by 
the  two  Governments  "  acting  in  conjunction."  The  third  section 
appropriates  $5000  to  defray  the  expense  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  One  of  the  letters  from  the  Secretary  of  War  to  that  Com- 
missioner, acting  under  his  order.-.  -ay>;  "  you  will  regard  the  appro- 
priation made  by  the  Congress,  in  carrying  into  effect  this  trust,  and 
in  no  case  exceed  it.  It  is  desirable  that  every  attention  be  paid  to 
making  the  undertaking  economical,  and  as  much  below  the  appro- 
priation as  possible."  Another  uses  this  language:  "  In  regard  .to  all 
the  details  having  reference  to  the  survey,  whether  these  relate  to 
the  selection  of  a  surveyor,  or  other  matter-  connected  with  the  execu- 
tion of  the  trust  confided  to  you.  they  are  referred  by  the  President  to 
your  agency  and  discretion." 

The  Commissioner  of  the  United  States  cannot  hesitate  to  believe 
that  he  is  fully  authorized  to  give  an  opinion  on  this  subject,  and 
accordingly  he  declare-  to  Mr.  Spalding  that  he  is  fully  convinced 
himself  of  the  propriety  of  making  all  preparations  and  carrying 
all  operations  on  at  the  joint  expense. 

Sect  nth.  What  sum  may  be  deemed  necessary  for  the  procuring  of 
provisions  and  equipments  for  the  Commissioners  and  gentlemen  who 
attend  them,  with  the  surveyor  and  men  engaged  under  him? 

The  number  of  persons  once  determined  by  the  two  Commissioners, 
and  actually  selected  and  employed  by  the  surveyor,  also  the  prob- 
able time  the  operations  may  take,  once  calculated,  Mr.  Spalding, 
who  knows  best  what  articles  are  requisite,  as  well  as  their  prices  in 
the  nearest  great  market  towns,  can  best  determine  what  sum  it  may 
require  to  procure  them.  The  Commissioner  of  the  United  States 
will  readily  acquiesce  in  any  which  the  appropriation  made  by  Con- 
gress will  justify. 

Eighth.  Will  it  be  necessary  to  be  furnished  with  moneyed  means 
to  meet  accidents  to  which  every  human  operation  is  subject;  or 
shall  we  depend  upon  sending  for  these  aids  after  they  have  become 
uese-sary  \ 

Answer.  Money  might  be  wanted  to  pay  off  men  discharged  for 
any  one  of  a  variety  of  causes  which  it  is  obvious  may  possibly  pro- 
duce that  effect:  something  indispensable  might  be  lost,  or  in  some 
unaviodable  way  rendered" useless:  in  which  case,  to  save  time  and 
expense,  it  must  be  replaced  from  the  nearest  settlement  where  it  it 
can  be  procured.  Whatever  money  may  be  carried,  will  be  as  entirely 
safe  in  the  pocket  of  Mr.  Spalding  as  any  where  it  could  be  put. 
43064— S.  Doc.  467,  60-1 5 


28  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

It  need  not  be  remarked  that  such  a  circumstance  should  be  a  pro- 
found secret,  for  the  knowledge  of  it  might  excite  daring  cupidity 
in  Indians  or  others. 

Ninth.  In  what  manner  shall  we  procure  the  funds  necessary  for 
carrying  into  effect  our  resolutions? 

Ansiver.  If  Mr.  Spalding  cannot  procure  them  from  the  re- 
sources of  Georgia,  by  application  to  the  Governor,  or  in  some 
more  immediate  way  here,  the  commencement  of  the  survey  cannot 
be  ■  made  until  communication  between  the  Commissioner  of  the 
United  States  and  this  Government  shall  be  had,  and  the  orders  of 
the  President  received. 

Money  can  only  be  drawn  from  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States, 
under  the  appropriation  for  this  purpose,  by  the  requisition  of  the 
head  of  the  War  Department.  That  the  United  States'  Treasury  will 
be  liable  to  the  authorities  of  Georgia  for  any  advance  it  may  make 
for  the  purpose  of  running  this  line,  provided  it  neither  exceed  one 
moiety  of  the  expense  actually  and  unavoidably  incurred  in  the  pros- 
ecution of  the  intention  of  Congress  in  this  particular  case,  nor  yet 
exceed  the  whole  amount  of  the  appropriation  made  by  them  on  the 
occasion,  need  not  be  demonstrated  to  the  authorities  of  Georgia. 

Mr.  Spalding  may  rely  upon  the  Commissioner  of  the  United  States 
for  whatever  co-operation  he  may  require  from  him  in  this  and  all 
other  points. 

Most  respectfullv  submitted,  by 

THOMAS  M.  RANDOLPH,  Sen. 

Com m' V.    (SiC. 
To  Thomas  Spalding,  Esq. 

Comm\  d'C 


Memoranda  of  Point*  to  be  determined  with  Gov.  Randolph. 

1st.  Shall  Ave  commence  running  the  line  of  separation  between 
Georgia  and  Florida  on  the  St.  Marys'  or  at  the  Chatahoochie ? 

2d.  Shall  there  be  one  or  two  surveyors? 

3d.  What  number  of  men  shall  be  engaged? 

4th.  Shall  we  provision  them  for  the  whole  operation  at  this  place, 
and  for  how  long? 

5th.  Shall  we  employ,  for  transport,  light  wagons  or  pack-horses? 

6th.  Shall  we  make  our  preparations  in  all  points  at  the  joint  ex- 
pense ? 

7th.  What  sum  may  be  deemed  necessary  for  the  procuring  of 
provisions,  and  equipments  for  the  Commissioners,  and  gentlemen 
who  attend  them  ?  for  the  surveyor,  and  men  engaged  under  him  ? 

8th.  Will  it  be  necessary  to  be  provided  with  moneyed  means,  to 
meet  the  accidents  to  which  every  human  operation  is  subject;  or 
shall  we  depend  upon  sending  for  these  aids  after  they  become  neces- 
sary? 

9th.  In  what  manner  shall  be  procured  the  funds  necessary  for 
carrying  into  effect  our  resolutions? 

Respectfullv  submitted  to  Governor  Randolph,  by 

THOMAS  SPALDING, 

Commissioner,  c&c. 

Darien,  February  13,  1827. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  29 

East  Florida,  near  Lake  Oklahatche, 

Saturday,  March  24,  1827. 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  through  that  department  over  which  you  preside,  that  the 
party  occupied  in  running  the  boundary  line  between  Georgia  and 
Florida  arrived  on  the  St.  Mary's 'upon  the  6th  day  of  March.  On 
the  8th,  Mr.  McBride,  the  surveyor  appointed  by  the  Governor  of 
Georgia,  with  a  company  of  men  of  his  own  selection,  commenced 
that  operation  by  measuring  one  mile  due  north  from  the  mound 
made  by  Ellicot  and  Minor,  in  the  Spring  of  the  year  1800,  to  indi- 
cate the  vicinity  of  the  head  of  St,  Mary's,  then  inapproachable  by 
them.  From  the  extremity  of  that  one  mile,  they  began  a  line  in  the 
course  north  85°  46'  45"  west,  calculated  and  intended  to  reach  the 
junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chatahoochie  arms  of  the  Apalachicola 
river,  by  a  deflexion  to  the  west  of  2'  27"  in  every  five  miles.  The 
line  soon  entered  a  swamp  of  such  extent,  that,  although  completely 
separated  from  the  Great  Okefenoke  by  a  narrow  and  low  but  dry 
isthmus,  covered  with  long-leafed  pine  and  fan  palmetto,  it  did  not 
emerge  under  fifteen  miles.  In  a  few  chains  under  thirty  miles,  the 
Suwanee  river  was  crossed,  without  making  an  offset ;  and  there  is 
now  no  ground  to  apprehend  that  such  an  intermission  in  the  work 
will  take  place  on  the  part  of  the  line,  except  in  the  case  of  ponds  too 
deep  to  pass,  but  beyond  which  the  signals  can  be  distinctly  seen.  The 
line  misses  the  Suwanuchee,  but  intersects  the  Alapahaw  and  Wythla- 
coochie  branches  of  the  Suwanee  river.  Of  the  chain  of  lakes  lying 
on  this  part  of  the  line,  all  except  this,  near  which  we  now  are,  will 
be  in  Georgia;  some  of  the  others  are  ten  or  fifteen  miles  in  circum- 
ference. This  is  a  mile  lornr.  and  not  much  less  in  width,  with 
transparent  waters  and  dry  banks,  in  the  midst  of  a  fertile  coun- 
try, with  scenery  truly  picturesque,  and  highly  beautiful.  Of  the 
climate,  I  can  say  nothing  more  than  that,  since  the  25th  day  of 
January,  when  I  entered  South  Carolina,  there  has  been  an  uninter- 
rupted continuance  of  the  finest  Spring  weather  I  ever  witnessed 
in  my  life.  vrith  no  more  rain  than  what  has  afforded  a  variation 
as  agreeable  as  necessary  to  vegetation.  I  have  not  had  the  honor  as 
yet  to  receive  any  communication  from  your  department  since  I  left 
Ivichmond,  but  I  trust  that  I  may,  nevertheless,  before  I  reach  the 
Chathoochie,  be  gratified  with  the  answer  I  have  so  long  and  so  much 
desired,  to  my  application  from  Albemarle,  early  in  December, 
for  a  copy  of  "the  report  made  by  Ellicott  and  Minor  in  1800.  As 
yet,  I  cannot  myself  say  what  resolution  I  shall  take  as  to  making 
the  line  permanently,  if  I  remain  unprovided  with  that  important 
document,  which  must  have  been  lost  in  the  endeavors  to  transmit  it 
to  me  by  mail.  I  shall  go  to  Tallahassee  from  the  nearest  point  of 
the  line"  to  that  place,  with  the  hope  of  finding  the  important  com- 
munication there.  I  have  strong  hope  that  the  line  now  running  will 
terminate  so  near  to  the  western  extremity  of  the  true  boundary,  that 
the  return  line  will  soon  coincide  with  it;  in  which  case,  we  have  no 
more  to  do  than  to  make  a  small  mound  at  each  of  the  mile  stakes 
already  erected,  and  inscribed  with  the  distance,  as  the  line  has  ad- 
vanced. The  last  operation  will  be  to  continue  the  boundary  east- 
ward until  it  reaches  the'  St.  Mary's  river.  The  two  most  important 
geographical  facts  already  ascertained,  are,  that  the  head  spring  of 
St.  Marv's  lies  to  the  south  of  the  point  where  the  line  intersects  that 


30  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

river,  and  that  no  part  of  the  Great  Oksfenoke  Swamp  lies  in  Florida. 
Ellicott  and  Minor  appear  to  have  made  a  judicious  compromise:  for 
a  straight  line  from  the  mouth  of  the  Flint  river,  passing  through  the 
point  designated  as  the  head  of  St.  Mary's,  would  certainly  cut  off 
a  slip  of  territory  lying  on  the  south  side  of  St.  Mary's  river,  and 
the  north  side  of  the  line. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  sir.  vour,  &c. 

THOS.  M.  RANDOLPH,  Sen. 

Commissioner ',  c(v-. 
The  Hon.  James  Barbotr. 

Secretary  of  War. 


Tallahassee,  April  7.  1S-27. 
Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  the  line  passed  the 
Yamonia  Lake  on  Thursday,  5th  inst.  The  distance  of  115  miles 
was  measured  to  the  main  post  road  to  this  place,  where  it  passes 
that  body  of  water.  The  divergence  north,  from  all  former  lines,  has 
been  constantly  increasing.  It  was  there  two  miles:  and  there  is 
now  every  reason  to  apprehend  that  our  experiment  line  will  termi- 
nate north  of  the  settled  western  extremity  of  the  true  boundary. 
Nevertheless,  having  once  ascertained  the  true  cause  with  precision, 
we  can  avail  ourselves  of  it  fully  on  our  return,  to  correct  by:  and 
we  shall  have  no  need  of  going  through  the  swamps  again:  for  we 
can  always  find  the  true  line  beyond  by  measuring  very  exactly  the 
rectangular  distance  between  the  two.  where  they  enter  such  places. 
T  am  still  without  any  communication  from  you  since  December  23d. 
That  circumstance  places  me  on  ground  upon  which  the  subordinate 
officer  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  ought  not  to  be  permitted 
to  stand.  As  I  have  to  depend  on  my  own  resources  of  all  sorts.  T 
feel  even  a  higher  responsibility,  and  more  zeal  and  impatience  than 
I  might  otherwise  have  done.  But  it  is  manifest  that  I  can  have  no 
control  whatever  over  the  expenditure:  and.  also,  that  a  continuance 
of  the  same  determined  support  of  the  interests  of  the  United  States 
on  the  occasion  may  put  an  end  to  all  further  proceeding,  and  render 
that  expense  fruitless,  and  all  our  labor  unavailing.  I  shall  act  as 
I  persuade  myself  the  President  would  do,  if  he  were,  in  every  re- 
spect, in  my  situation.  I  shall  use  every  endeavor  to  attain  the  end 
desired  without  further  cost,  and.  of  course,  shall  be  ready  to  adopt 
any  fair  and  just  compromise  offered  to  bring  the  matter  to  a  con- 
clusion, knowing  that  what  I  assent  to  cannot  bind  the  Government, 
if  I  am  wrong.  Every  thing  possible,  with  the  means  we  have,  shall 
be  done  to  run  the  shortest  possible  line  between  the  two  settled  ex- 
tremities of  the  boundary.  But  if  Ellicott  and  Minor  have  erred  in 
assigning  their  geographical  position  to  those  two  points,  it  is  mani- 
fest that  the  line  between  them,  traced  according  to  calculation 
founded  on  their  results,  cannot  be  the  true  boundary.  The  space 
of  such  possible  error  corresponds  with  lands  on  the  St.  Mary's  and 
Suwanee  of  no  value  whatever,  as  they  are  barren  naturally,  and 
occupied  by  marshes,  which  never  become  dry.  for  the  most  pa  it. 
There  are  indeed,   some  truly  valuable  lands  included   within  the 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  31 

doubtful  limits,  but  scarcely  enough  to  defray  the  charge  of  the  exact 
operations  requisite  to  give  mathematical  accuracy. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  yours,  &c. 

[No  Signature.] 

P.  S.  Knowing  that  no  apology  is  ever  received  for  slovenly  hand 
writing,  I  should  not  think  of  making  any,  but  I  cannot  refrain 
from  remarking,  that  the  Georgia  Commissioner  has  a  Secretary  at- 
tending him  at  five  dollars  per  diem,  and  that  every  man  of  the 
party  is  a  Georgian  but  myself,  left  to  depend  upon  myself  alone, 
uninstructed,  unaided,  unprovided,  obliged  to  act  in  contrariety  to 
their  leader  upon  important  points,  among  men  who  join  him  in 
support  of  an  opinion,  daily,  almost,  declared  by  him,  that  Georgia 
will  be  forever  cramped  in  her  growth,  and  retarded  in  improve- 
ment, until  she  separates  from  the  Union.  I  find  the  variation  of  the 
needle,  admitted  by  the  Surveyor  General  here,  to  differ  almost  a 
degree  from  the  quantity  settled  by  two  corresponding  observations, 
made  on  the  St.  Mary's  by  the  person  employed  to  run  the  line  at 
present.  Yet  the  means  of  ascertaining  have  been  exactly  the  same, 
viz :  the  sight  vane,  plumb  line,  and  poplar  star,  at  its  greatest  elon- 
gation from  the  pole.  The  extraordinary  divergence  north  may  have 
happened  from  inaccuracy  on  the  occasion  mentioned.  Yet  the 
operation  was  conducted  with  as  much  precision  as  I  ever  witnessed ; 
and  I  had  not,  myself,  the  smallest  suspicion  of  error.  My  confi- 
dence in  the  Georgia  Surveyor  is  unabated.  He  is  a  man  of  science, 
of  expertness,  and  diligence,  with  a  constancy  not  to  be  shaken,  and 
a  moral  character  not  to  be  impeached. 

[No  Signature.] 


Encampment  neak  Lake  Yamonia, 

Of  East  Florida,  April  17,  1827. 
Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
through  you,  that,  when  the  experiment  line  run  from  the  point 
designated  by  Ellicott  and  Minor  as  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's 
river,  toward  the  junction  of  the  rivers  Flint  and  Chattahoochie,  had, 
so  nearly  as  three  or  four  miles,  approached  its  termination,  a  de- 
spatch was  received  by  the  Commissioners  of  Georgia  from  the 
Executive  authority  of  that  State,  and  communicated  to  the  Commis- 
sioner of  the  United  States,  which  instantaneously  arrested  the 
progress  of  the  line,  as  it  was,  according  to  instructions  accompany- 
ing it,  put  immediately,  without  any  demand  or  application,  into  the 
hands  of  the  latter.  The  Governor  of  Georgia  recalls  the  assent  of 
Georgia,  heretofore  supposed  to  have  been  deliberately  and  distinctly 
given,  to  the  concurrent  operations  provided  for  by  the  act  of  Con- 
gress relative  to  the  Florida  boundary  in  continuance  and  com- 
pletion of  those  formerly  conducted  by  the  Commissioners  of  the 
United  States  and  Spain,'  with  the  same  object,  but  left  by  them  un- 
finished. He  declares  that  another  investigation  of  the  source  of  the 
St.  Mary's,  and  a  more  satisfactory  demonstration  of  its  locality, 
must  be  made,  before  Georgia  will  consent  to  receive,  as  her  southern 
boundary,  any  line  run  between  the  geographical  points  determined 


32  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

and  designated  as  the  terminations  east  and  west  of  such  a  line; 
unless  it  should  be  found  that  one  of  these  points,  the  eastern,  has,  in 
fact,  been  placed  further  to  the  south  than  its  true  position,  when 
precisely  determined  according  to  the  conditions  prescribed  by  the 
treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  in  1795.  He,  moreover, 
advises,  but  does  not  command,  the  Commissioner  of  Georgia  to  insti- 
tute operations  tending  to  make  such  discovery,  and  communicate  the 
result  before  he  proceeds  further  in  the  work.  He  requires  him,  how- 
ever, to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  Commissioner  of  the  United 
States  in  such  operations,  or,  in  case  of  his  refusal,  not  to  prosecute 
them  at  all.  That  Commissioner,  having  no  authority  which  would 
justify  his  deliberating,  for  one  moment,  on  such  a  proposition,  pro- 
posed to  suspend  all  further  proceedings  until  he  could  consult  his 
Government,  or  to  run  the  course  recommended  by  Ellicott  in  his 
journal,  with  the  deflexion  prescribed,  from  the  junction  of  the  rivers, 
and  see  where  it  would  strike  the  St.  Mary's  river.  To  neither  was 
the  Commissioner  of  Georgia  willing  to  give  his  assent.  Both 
thought  the  public  good  would  be  most  promoted  by  continuing  the 
endeavor  to  terminate  the  affair,  and  prevent  the  difference  likely  to 
arise,  by  procuring  a  result  which  would  thoroughly  fulfil  the  act  of 
Congress,  and  be,  at  the  same  time,  likely  to  give  sufficient  satisfac- 
tion to  Georgia.  After  the  arrangements  made  at  Darien,  the  ex- 
pense actually  incurred,  all  the  benefit  of  which  would  be  lost,  the 
pledge  given  to  the  men  employed  to  bring  them  back  to  that  place, 
and  the  agreement  made  between  the  Commissioners  themselves  to 
compromise  differences  on  all  occasions,  if  possible,  and  use  all  prac- 
ticable means  to  attain  the  end  in  view,  fairly  in  the  progress,  and 
equally  in  the  termination,  great  reluctance  to  discontinue  altogether, 
of  course,  existed  in  the  minds  of  both.  It  was  at  length  concluded 
to  run  a  line  back  by  the  course  which  the  resolution  of  the  plain 
triangle  would  give,  found  by  the  experiment  line  computed  out  by 
an  offset  to  the  lines  formerly  run  for  the  same  purpose,  the  one  mile 
line  at  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  the  intended  line  protracted  before 
run.  The  deflexion  necessary  in  running  a  plum  line  has,  of  course, 
been  observed.  Forty-five  miles  of  such  a  line  have  been  already 
run,  and  the  calculated  distance  from  former  lines,  so  far.  corre- 
sponds with  the  actual  rectangular  distance  found  to  exist.  A  few 
more  ostensible  marks  than  on  the  experiment  line  have  been  made. 
The  work  is  no  longer  considered  as  capable  of  producing  a  final 
result;  but  sanguine  hopes  are  entertained  that  it  may  prove  satis- 
factory, in  the  issue,  as  to  reconcile  both  authorities  to  an  acceptance 
of  it  as  a  compromise  the  best  likely  to  be  made,  because  the  whole 
proceedings,  from  the  act  of  Congress  to  the  end  of  the  geographical 
process,  have  been  founded  upon  a  former  compromise,  which  has  re- 
mained unimpeached  for  twenty-seven  years;  and,  moreover,  has  been 
confirmed  by  repeated  operations  ordered  by  Legislative  or  executive 
acts,  founded  upon  the  general  conviction  that  it  wTas  not  only  equit- 
able, but  the  best  possible  to  be  made,  according  to  all  the  information 
acquired  in  the  time  elapsed  since  the  date  of  it.  [See  letter  of  the 
United  States  to  Georgia  Commissioner,  April  9.]  The  experiment 
line  was  apart  and  north  from  that  run  by  Mr.  McNeil,  under  orders 
of  the  Surveyor  General  of  Florida,  pursuant  to  an  Executive  man- 
date, under  the  administration  of  Monroe,  full  two  miles,  when  more 
than  ten  miles  from  its  computed  end.     As  the  commission  is  consti- 


[Doc.  Xo.  43.]  33 

tilled,  the  Surveyor  appointed  by  Georgia,  and  accepted  by  the  offi- 
cer of  the  United  States,  not  the  less  considerately  and  willingly 
because  he  had  no  other  resource,  was.  of  course,  the  sole  umpire 
in  cases  of  difference  of  opinion;  and.  as  such,  of  course,  the  United 
States'  Commissioner  had  no  control  over  him  in  any  way.  The 
Commissioner  of  Georgia  attributed  the  extraordinary  divergence 
lure  mentioned  to  an  error  in  determining  the  magnetic  variation. 
That  taken,  was  50"  less  than  the  allowance  now  at  Tallahassee, 
ascertained  by  order  of  the  Surveyor  General,  three  and  a  half  years 
ago,  in  the  very  same  way,  viz:  sight  vanes,  plumb  line  of  thirty 
feet  length,  with  plummet  in  water  to  guard  against  agitation  by 
wind,  and  the  poplar  star  at  its  greatest  observed  elongation,  deter- 
mined by  observation.  The  correspondence  of  two  observations, 
made  through  separate  nights,  near  Ellicott's  Mound,  gave  confidence, 
although  the  mode  was  not  that  the  Commissioner  of  the  United 
States  would  have  preferred.  There  is  much  reason  to  believe  that 
the  geographical  data  for  the  calculation  of  the  course  used,  which 
were  assumed  from  Ellicott,  are  incorrect,  and  have  vitiated  the 
result.  But  the  geographical  point,  the  junction  of  Chatahoochie 
and  Flint,  is  indefinite.  Junction  of  the  rivers  means  junction  of 
their  waters,  which  are  identified  only  by  their  common  natural 
banks  in  their  ordinary  fullness.  The  union  of  these  is  the  junction 
of  two  rivers.  The  term  confluence  of  their  streams  would  have  had 
a  different  meaning.  The  experiment  line  now  run  would  have  come 
very  near  that  naturally  marked  point,  although  far  north  of  the 
extreme  of  the  submerged  grounds  projecting  from  the  same,  and  in- 
dicating the  confluem  e  of  the  main  streams  or  currents.* 
Very  respectfully. 

♦     Your  obedient  servant. 

TH,  M.  1LVXDOLPH. 
Jambs  Bakbotjr,  Esq. 


MillelxtEville.  May  15.  1827. 
Sir:  I  have  had  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you.  by  mail,  three  several 
packets,  containing  the  communications  made  by  the  Governor  of 
Georgia  to  the  Commissioner  of  that  State,  while  we  were  upon  the 
line,  and  a  correspondence  between  the  two  Commissioners,  which 
took  place  upon  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Spalding,  who  declared  that 
he  deemed  that  formality  necessary.  In  consequence  of  the  last  com- 
munication from  Governor  Troup,  all  further  proceedings  stopped  on 
the  28th  April :  the  Commissioner  of  the  United  States  being  entirely 
unprovided  with  means  to  continue  them,  or  any  accrediting  testi- 
monial which  might  have  supplied  the  place:  which  he  regrets  the 
more,  from  the  conviction  he  is  under  that  the  result  would  have 
been  accepted  by  the  Legislature  of  Georgia,  and  a  final  boundary 
established  without  that  additional  expense  which  has  been,  by 
the  interference,  rendered  unavoidable.  The  expenditure  made  on 
this  occasion  has  proved  much  greater  than  any  one  expected:  but  it 

*  Trees  grow  there  which  would  not  live  out  of  the  water.  The  junction  of 
two  Huts  cannot  be  ;  t  a  place  a  mile  or  more  below  that  at  which  their  waters 
have  been  already  joined,  supposing  the  natural  banks  or  sides  of  the  channel  to 
identify   the   waters. 


34  [Doc.  No.  43.1 

is  manifest  that  the  United  States'  Commissioner  could  have  no  con- 
trol over  it.  and  that  he  could  not  do  otherwise  than  submit  to  the 
judgment  of  the  Commissioner  of  Georgia  upon  every  question  of 
that  nature,  for  the  alternative  to  require  the  Commissioner  of  Geor- 
gia to  submit  to  him,  who  was  much  less  qualified  to  judge  of  such 
things  in  Georgia.  Much  might  have  been  saved  by  bringing  out  <me 
half  at  least  of  the  party  from  Virginia,  as  was  proposed.  In  that 
case,  the  work  would  have  been  completed,  and  a  new  investigation  for 
the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  made,  which  the  two  Commissioners  had 
indeed  agreed  to  make  when  they  arrived  at  the  eastern  end  of  the 
line:  that  of  the  United  States  having  proposed  to  take  the  responsi- 
bility upon  himself  of  concurring  from  the  entire  conviction  that  the 
result  would  thoroughly  support  the  view  taken  by  Congress.  By 
crossing  the  St.  Mary's  at  Ellicot's  mound,  above  and  below,  on  horse- 
back, repeatedly,  while  Mr.  Spalding  had  crossed  it  only  once  upon 
a  log.  I  had  satisfied  myself  of  the  accuracy  of  Ellicott  and  Minor. 
Immediately  above  the  mound  B.  the  river  could  not  be  navigated 
in  a  canoe,  for  it  is  a  narrow  rivulet,  in  the  middle  of  wide  bog; 
while  immediately  below,  all  in  sight  of  B,  if  the  ground  was  cleared 
of  trees  and  shrubs,  it  is  a  river  boatable  for  fifteen  tons:  above,  it 
came  to  my  horse's  knees:  below,  half  way  tip  the  saddle  skirts,  at 
the  same  time.  It  is  true,  that  following  the  course  of  the  greatest 
length  of  one  of  the  swamps  which  supply  the  river,  you  will  go 
southwardly  a  little:  and  that  swamp,  after  rains,  has  a  perceptible 
motion  in  its  waters,  but  another  turns  west,  and  is  much  more  ex- 
tensive, with  much  the  greater  part  of  its  extent  on  the  north  of  our 
line.  The  question  made  by  Georgia  now  is  too  trifling,  in  my  opin- 
ion, to  have  produced  those  consequences  which  the  ferment  excited 
about  Milledgeville.  I  conclude,  has  rendered  expedient.  A  letter 
from  a  Secretary  of  War,  in  1819.  'authorized  Georgia  to  expect  a 
new  investigation  to  determine  the  exact  locality  of  the  head  of  St. 
Mary's.  The  expression  used  is.  "  the  acquisition  of  the  Floridas  may 
change  the  character  of  the  boundaries.*'  But  that  investigation  was 
really  made  by  Georgia  in  1819,  and  the  report  concluded  in  these 
words :  "  We  are  therefore  of  opinion  that  Mr.  Ellicott  and  the  Span- 
ish deputation  were  correct  in  establishing  on  the  northern  bank  the 
point  of  demarcation  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Province 
of  East  Florida."  The  question  now  made  did  not  occur  to  the  three 
Commissioners  of  1819,  all  appointed  by  Georgia.  This  correspond- 
ence will  be  found  in  the  Department  of  "War.  and  the  report,  as 
communicated  by  Governor  Rabun.  It  is  proposed  here  to  send  a 
Georgia  surveyor  to  search  for  the  head  of  the  river.  I  cannot  omit 
to  declare  my  sentiments  in  regard  to  this  proposal,  that  they  may 
not  be  unknown  when  that  case  comes  up  hereafter.  Whoever  he  may 
be.  he  will  not  venture  to  give  an  opinion  adverse  to  the  public  wishes. 
if  the  excitement  in  the  public  mind  should  be  considerable  at  the 
time,  upon  the  question,  which  is  not  the  case  now  generally.  I  am 
very  sure :  for  many  more  persons  have  expressed  their  regret  at  the 
interruption  than  the  contrary.  Yet.  no  doubt,  by  taking  a  dry  time, 
a  survey  may  be  made  of  the  rivulet  running  into  St.  Mary's  near  the 
mound,  and  the  point  determined  geographically  where  it  ceases  to 
be  a.  rivulet  and  becomes  a  bog.  supposing  the  astronomical  results 
of  Ellicott.  by  which  the  geographical  position  of  the  mound  has  been 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  35 

determined  to  be  correct,  and  their  verification  by  a  practical  astron- 
omer, furnished  with  perfect  instruments,  and  allowed  several  weeks 
at  each  extremity  of  the  line,  ought  not  to  be  omitted  on  such  an 
occasion.  With  respect  to  the  western  extremity,  inquiry  should  then 
be  made  whether  a  point  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  rarely  ever  uncov- 
ered there,  has  not  been  taken  for  the  junction,  one  mile  or  more 
south  of  the  cape  or  headland  forming  the  point  of  the  fork  where 
the  banks  of  the  two  rivers  unite,  and  their  waters  join,  except  in 
very  uncommon  dry  seasons.  Cypress  and  other  aquatic  trees  grow 
all  over  the  beds  of  the  rivers  to  the  south,  and  their  streams  are  seen 
meandering  through  them.  That  is  the  case  with  Suwanee,  where 
it  is  very  rapid.  I  must  be  permitted  to  declare  my  opinion,  that, 
if  Georgia  and  the  United  States  were  to  leave  the  geometrical  opera- 
tions precisely  as  they  now  stand,  it  would  give  general  satisfaction 
hereafter.  If  the  line  run  westward  on  this  occasion,  as  far  as  the 
Wythlacoochie,  68  miles,  and  the  line  run  eastward  to  the  same,  93 
miles,  with  the  short  course  of  river  between,  were  adopted  as  the  per- 
manent boundary,  there  could  not  be  any  dissatisfaction  on  either 
side,  now  or  hereafter,  and  no  further  expense  would  be  requisite. 
One  straight  line  will  intersect  the  AVythlacoochie  more  than  once, 
and  will  leave  small  portions  of  Florida  on  its  north,  and  like  frag- 
ments of  Georgia  on  the  south,  forming  fractional  parts,  upon  a  gen- 
eral survey,  of  no  value  whatever.  These  two  lines  are  sufficiently 
marked  as  they  are  now;  the  first  here  mentioned  by  mile  stakes 
numbered,  and  the  second  by  five-mile  hillocks,  made  with  a  hoe,  and 
both  well,  by  blazing  trees  on  both  sides. 

When  the  party  broke  up.  the  majority  proceeded  to  Darien,  with 
the  provisions  which  remained,  while  the  Commissioner  and  secre- 
tary, with  the  surveyor,  chain-carriers,  and  signal-bearers,  set  out 
directly  by  the  head  of  the  Allassaha,  a  branch  of  the  Suwanee  river, 
and  the  south  bend  of  Altaniaha,  for  Milledgeville.  I  accompanied 
those,  of  course,  with  the  view,  first,  to  close  the  commission  and  get 
copies  of  all  the  documents,  and.  next,  to  obey  the  order  of  the  de- 
partment issued  from  the  Office  of  Indian  Affairs,  under  dates  of 
December  and  February  last,  in  regard  to  the  claims  of  Baley  and 
Brodnax,  for  supplies  furnished  to  the  friendly  Creek  Indians,  who 
had  been  expelled  from  their  country  when  Mcintosh  was  assassi- 
nated. When  we  arrived  at  the  Altamaha,  the  waters  of  Oakmulgee 
were  so  high  that  it  could  not  be  crossed,  and  Ave  had  to  make  our 
way,  after  separating  from  the  surveyor  and  his  men,  along  its 
banks,  for  fifty  miles,  up  to  the  ferry  at  Hartford;  before  we  arrived 
at  which,  we  had  numerous  creeks  to  pass,  by  wading  up  to  the  shoul- 
ders, on  account  of  the  unsoundness  of  their  bottoms,  and  were 
thereby  delayed  until  the  night  of  the  6th.  On  the  morning  of  the 
10th.  the  Commissioners  separated.  I  have  a  copy  of  the  accounts 
of  the  expenditure,  but  I  have  as  yet  received  nothing  from  the  sur- 
veyor, for  whose  residence,  in  Putnam  county,  I  shall  set  out  to-mor- 
row, being  sure  of  concluding  to-day  the  business  devolved  on  me 
from  the  Office  of  Indian  Affairs.  Here  I  may  be  allowed  to  inform 
you,  that  the  Creek  Indians  of  the  party  friendly  to  the  United  States 
are.  at  this  time,  almost  starving;  the  only  subsistence  of  men, 
women,  and  children  being  the  root  of  a  kind  of  bamboo,  called  here 
China  briar,   (the  Smilax  Suedo  China  of  the  botanists,)   which  is 


36  [Doc.  Xo.  43.] 

rendered  esculent  only  by  a  tedious  preparation,  and  has  not  nutri- 
tive virtue  enough  to  save  the  lives  of  their  children,  all  of  whom 
will  probably  perish  without  immediate  relief  from  the  United 
State-,  as  most  of  those  of  the  Seminoles  in  the  Peninsula  of  Florida 
have  already  done,  from  want  of  wholesome  food.  Xo  other  aid 
from  the  United  States  than  the  issue  of  one  peck  of  corn  a  head  per 
week  would  be  necessary  or  expedient.  Brigadier  General  Ware,  of 
the  Georgia  militia,  would  be  the  best  person  to  address  to  on  this 
occasion,  if  it  should  be  resolved  to  do  any  thing  in  this  case  of  the 
utmost  possible  wretchedness,  into  which  their  civil  broils  have 
brought  the  part  of  the  nation  always  faithful  to  the  United  States. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  whole  Creek  nation  could  be  easily  prevailed 
upon  now  to  consent  to  move  over  the  Mississipj>i,  and  the  Seminoles 
will  gladly  share  their  destinies  at  this  time.  But  a  special  mission 
from  the  President,  best  perhaps  composed  of  the  military  of  some 
rank,  will  be  necessary  on  the  occasion,  in  my  opinion.  Nothing  is 
likely  to  be  done,  unless  the  authority  be  so  new  and  of  such  dignity 
as  to  render  useless,  or  vain  and  unavailing,  in  result,  all  factious 
contrivances  to  thwart  the  views  of  the  Government,  from  ill  will  to 
the  agents  employed  by  it.  These  savages  are  as  credulous  and  inde- 
cisive as  they  are  ignorant  and  capricious.  With  them  idle  tales  or 
malicious  representations  and  statements  have  as  much  effect  a-  accu- 
rate information.  Every  thing  which  fosters  and  strengthens  their 
natural  suspicion  and  jealousy  is  well  received  by  them.  Whatever 
is  done  with  them,  then,  must  be  quick  clone,  and  by  a  commanding 
influence.  1  trust  what  I  have  here  said  needs  no  apology,  a-  my 
attention  has  been  turned  to  this  subject  by  duties  which  have  been 
assigned  to  me  from  a  branch  of  your  department.  I  have  already 
forwarded  my  report  in  the  case  or  Baley,  and  shall  send  that  in  the 
case  of  Brodnax  by  to-morrow's  mail.  The  decisions  [  have  made  in 
these  cases  have  been  founded  upon  evidence  which  would  have 
satisfied  my  mind  as  a  juror,  in  making  up  my  opinion  for  a  verdict 
in  concurrence  with  the  others.  If  I  have  been  deceived,  all  the  per- 
sons to  whom  1  have  had  access,  and  who  were  in  the  way  to  be  in- 
formed at  the  time,  have  been  deceived  also.  Assertions  made  by  the 
disappointed,  springing  from  jealousy  of  the  success  of  others,  have 
been  duly  considered  by  me.  notwithstanding  their  want  of  weight 
from   want  of  character. 

I  am  authorized  to  say.  in  regard  to  the  question  with  Georgia, 
about  the  head  of  St.  Mary's,  that,  if  General  Bernard,  now  in  that 
quarter,  were  required  to  examine  and  report,  it  would  be  speedily 
decided,  without  additional  expense,  in  great  probability,  by  the  next 
Georgia  Legislature  and  Congn  -- 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  sir. 
Your  most  obedient. 

TH.  M.  RAXDOLPH. 

The  Hon.  James  Barbour,  Secretary  of  War. 

P.  S.  I  consider  the  departure  of  Colonel  Brearly,  before  the  ex- 
treme distress  for  want  of  food  had  fallen  upon  the  Creek  Indians 
of  Mclr.tosh's  party,  as  very  unfortunate:  and  I  feel  very  sure  the 
Colonel  has  had  some  bad.  if  not  insidious  advice  given  him  on  that 
subject.  They  would  not  only  enter  their  names  now.  but  would 
actually  follow  him  like  hungry  dog-  to  be  fed.  any  where  he  might 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  37 

lead.  My  information  is  derived  from  many  persons  whom  I  have 
met.  at  different  times,  some  every  day  for  a  few  days  back,  imme- 
diately from  among  them.  The  wrechtedness  of  the  Florida  Indians 
was  communicated  to  me  through  sure  channels  of  information,  while 
I  was  in  the  Territorv. 

T.  M.  R. 

April  Uh,  1S27. 
My  dear  Sir  :  I  have  considered  the  subject  of  your  letter  ad- 
dressed to  me  this  morning,  with  all  the  capacity  I  have,  and  with 
sentiments  of  the  highest  possible  respect  for  your  knowledge,  judg- 
ment, and  zeal  to  procure  a  just  and  accurate  termination  of  our 
undertaking. 

With  respect  to  the  lines  formerly  run,  I  have  never  had  much 
confidence  in  them,  because  they  have,  two  or  three  times,  as  I  under- 
stand, diverged,  converged,  intersected,  coincided  for  a  space,  and 
separated  again. 

I  have  conjectured  that  Watson  followed  the  course  recommended 
by  Ellicott  without  making  the  deflexion  proposed  by  him,  and  that 
McXiel  reserved  the  course  simply,  and  made  the  deflexion,  but,  hav- 
ing Watson's  setting  out  at  hand,  as  he  approached  the  western  end. 
corrected  by  it.  so  as  to  ensure  the  same  termination. 

I  begin  ito  fear  with  you  that  our  variation  may  not  have  been 
determined  with  perfect  precision;  but  still,  when  Mr.  McBride  finds 
that  with  certainty,  he  can  make  use  of  the  o-uide  line,  neverthe 
with  equal  advantage.  I  have  approved  of  his  putting  down  small 
temporary  mile  posts,  with  the  number  of  miles  inscribed  on  each. 
for  obvious  reasons;  and  I  have  no  objection  at  all  to  having  them 
removed,  at  the  joint  charge,  as  we  return.  With  respect  to  the  un- 
pleasant feelings  excited  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  as  we  do  not 
agree  in  opinion  as  to  the  fact  itself,  I  cannot  express  any  other 
sentiment  than  that  of  sorrow,  that  any  one  person,  settled  near  the 
boundary,  should  be  so  effected,  even  for  a  few  days.  I  propose  to 
yon.  for'  your  consideration,  to  print  an  explanatory  handbill  at 
Tallahassee  immediately,  if  there  be  a  press  there;  if  not,  to  let  the 
Secretary  employ  himself  in  writing  a  number,  to  be  distributed 
as  widely  and  speedily  as  possible.  ^  My  wish  is,  that  this  experi- 
ment line  should  be  continued  as  begun.  It  cannot  make  a  differ- 
ence in  time  of  more  than  four  days,  if  that.  We  may  then  com- 
mence anew,  at  the  western  extremity,  upon  Ellicott's  course,  if  you 
please,  with  his  deflexions,  offsetting  to  the  end  of  our  sfuide  line, 
which,  it  seems,  must  terminate  north  of  the  junction,  effacing  it  as 
we  return  and  making  the  real  boundary  by  mounds  as  well  as  stakes. 
I  think  it  would  not  be  justifiable  for  me  to  accede  to  your  proposal 
to  abandon  a  line  already  run  115  miles  out  of  155,  because  its  course 
has  been  further  north  than  was  expected.  I  trust  you  will  con- 
sent to  its  continuance  unchanged  in  any  way.  even  if  it  should 
threaten,  before  ended,  more  than  at  present,  to  be  wholly  unavailing. 

I  beg  you  to  be  assured,  my  dear  sir,  of  the  cordiality  and  sincerity 
of  the  sentiments  of  respect  and  esteem  which  it  gives  me  so  much 
pleasure  to  express,  on  all' occasions,  with  regard  to  you. 

Writing,  as  I  do,  on  my  knees  from  a  log.  I  fear  my  hand  will  be 
scarcelv  ieeible.     It  mortifies  me  extremely  to  be  a  bad  penman  at 


38  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

all  times;  but  I  am  row  too  old  to  improve  in  that  at  least,  and  must 
ask  your  indulgence  for  my  inability  to  write  under  such  circum- 
stances. 

I  am,  dear  sir. 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

T.  M.  RANDOLPH, 

Commissioner,  dbc. 
Thomas  Spalding,  Esq. 

Commissioner,  dec. 
P.  S.  I  will  reply  more  in  detail  to  our  favor  of  to-day,  as  soon  as 
it  may  be  necessary,  and  I  beg  your  indulgence  for  the  delay. 


Junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  Rivers, 

Monday,  April  9,  1827. 
My  dear  Sir  :  I  have  this  moment  received  a  communication  from 
Governor  Troup,  which,  in  the  frankness  of  his  character,  he  permits 
me  to  lay  before  you.  This  letter  contains,  in  detail,  the  many  rea- 
sons which,  from  time  to  time,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  suggest  to 
you  as  giving  a  claim  to  Georgia  that  the  boundary  line  should  not. 
at  any  event,  be  extended  beyond  the  mound  that  Ellicott  erected 
near  the  eastern  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's  river;  believing,  as  I 
have  done,  from  the  beginning  of  our  survey,  that  both  the  streams 
into  which  the  St.  Mary's  is  divided,  take  their  source  far  south  of 
the  mound :  but  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  attempt  to  add  any  thing 
to  the  lucid  exposition  which  Governor  Troup  has  given,  and  I  only 
allude  to  my  opinion  here,  lest  it  should  have  been  supposed  I  could 
have  lost  sight  of  the  rights  of  Georgia  upon  this  subject. 
Yours,  most  respectfully, 

TH.  SPALDING. 

To  Gov.  Randolph,  Commissioner,  dec. 


Thomas  County.  April  4.  18-27. 
My  dear  Sir:  Mr.  McBride  having  joined  us  in  camp,  I  beg  leave 
to  renew  to  you  the  proposition  I  made  two  days  ago.  that  we  should 
here  suspend  the  experiment  line,  which  can.  in  no  circumstance,  be 
any  longer  necessary;  and  I  beg  to  submit  to  you  some  reasons  in 
addition  to  those  which  were  contained  in  my  letter  to  Mr.  McBride. 
and  which  letter  I  read  to  3^011  for  your  approbation.  Since  that 
time,  Mr.  McBride  has  run  28  miles,  and,  instead  of  diverging 
towards  either  Mr.  McNeil's  or  Mr.  Watson's  lines,  he  is  now  eleven 
chains  further  from  Mr.  McNeil's,  and  five  chains  further  from  Mr. 
Watson's.  It  is  impossible,  therefore,  that  we  can  imagine  that,  in 
the  scarce  40  miles  which  remains  to  be  run,  his  line  will  diverge  so 
far  south  as  to  unite  with  those  lines  which  are  now  distant  from  his 
experiment  line  two  miles  and  an  eighth.  It  seems  to  me  that  our 
difficulties  have  arisen  from  permitting  ourselves  to  suppose  that  Mr. 
Watson  and  Mr.  McNeil  ran  straight  lines,  and  not  lines  describing 
the  arc  of  a  great  circle.  The  continued  divergement  of  Mr. 
McBride's  line  from  the  lines  of  these  gentlemen  demonstrates,  !•> 
my  mind,  conclusively,  that  they,  like  him,  must  have  pursued  the 
arc  of  a  circle,  and  that  our  deviation  to  the  north  must  have  arisen 
in   a  mistaken  allowance  for  variation,  and  this,  too,  is  now  Mr. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  39 

McBride's  opinion.  As  we  are  to  commence  upon  our  real  line  at 
the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers,*now  distant  but 
40  miles,  to  proceed  at  once  there,  and  take  up  Mr.  Ellicott's  indicated 
course  before  any  error  of  any  consequence,  at  all  important,  can 
have  arisen,  we  Avill  have  reached  this  point,  when  Mr.  McBride's 
experiment  line  will  serve  all  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  originally 
intended :  it  will  serve  to  correct  and  to  verify  our  labors  upon  the 
line. 

This  arrestment  of  the  experiment  line  has  become  the  more  neces- 
sary, because  we  have  arrived  at  a  part  of  the  country  thickly  in- 
habited, and,  at  every  progressive  mile,  we  are  filling  these  inhabit- 
ants with  uneasiness  and  alarm  for  their  vested  rights.  It  is  known 
to  us  that  the  line  we  have  been  running  is  but  an  experiment  line, 
and  that  its  demarcation  and  measuremont  is  only  intended  for  the 
purpose  of  more  readily  and  more  truly  verifying  our  future  work, 
but  all  this  is  not  known  to  them;  and,  although  we  may  say  this  to 
those  that  we  may  meet  in  our  way,  words  are  fleeting  and  are  perish- 
able, while  our  course  has  been  written  upon  the  trees,  and  their 
alarms  must  and  will  be  renewed  as  soon  as  we  have  passed.  You 
will  remember,  my  good  sir.  that,  from  the  beginning,  I  have  been 
reluctant  in  consenting  to  such  demarcation,  and  have  only  yielded 
from  the  conviction  in  my  own  mind,  that  the  superior  knowledge 
which  you  yourself  and  Mr.  McBride  possessed  upon  this  subject, 
might  make  that  necessary  which  to  me  did  not  appear  so.  This 
necessity,  however,  can  certainly  now  no  longer  exist;  and  I  appeal 
to  the  feelings  of  liberality,  which  I  have  uniformly  found  in  your 
bosom,  for  an  indulgence  of  those  feelings  which  you  are  now  sensible 
must  exist  in  mine:  for  suppose,  sir.  that,  by  any  circumstance,  after 
this  experiment  line  should  have  been  run.  our  work  should  be  in- 
terrupted— and  we  hear  rumors  of  Indian  war  ai  the  present  mo- 
ment— would  not  the  labors  that  we  have  executed  to  do  a  serious  in- 
jury, by  alarming  all  persons  who  are  embraced  within  these  two 
lines?  might  it  not  even  generate  feuds  between  Georgia  and  Florida 
upon  the  subject  of  their  boundaries,  where  now  there  are  none? 
But  I  trust,  my  dear  sir.  I  have  said  enough  upon  this  subject;  and 
I  therefore  most  respectfully  request  your  perusal  of  this  letter,  with 
the  copy  of  the  letter  addressed,  two  days  ago,  to  Mr.  McBride. 

Yours.  &c. 

T.  SPALDING. 

To  Tii.  M.  Randolph,  Esq. 


Executive  1 )  i:  pa  r  i  m  en  t, 
Milledgeville.  Mth  March,  1827. 
Dear  Sir:  I  have  received  your  two  several  communications  from 
the  Florida  line,  of  the  7th  and'  12th  instant.  In  drafting  your 
original  instructions,  it  was  confidently  believed,  from  the  best 
sources  of  information  accessible  to  me.  not  only  that  the  latitude 
and  longitude  of  the  two  mounds  viz:  the  one  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Flint,  the  other  at  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,  had  been  established 
with  the  greatest  accuracy  and  precision*  but  that  the  latter  mound 
was.   in   its  position,  very  nearly  identical  with  the  true  source  or 


40  *  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

head  of  the  St.  Mary's.  I  do  not  learn,  from  either  of  your  com- 
munications, that  this  is  not  the  fact :  without  knowing  the  relative 
position  of  the  mound  to  the  head  of  the  river,  it  would  seem  that  the 
commissioners,  in  a  spirit  of  compromise,  resolved  to  run  the  X.  E. 
line  of  640  perches,  supposing  the  head  of  the  river  would  be  found 
within  that  line. 

The  United  States  had  unquestionably  the  constitutional  right  to 
form  :i  treaty  of  boundary  with  Spain:  to  that  treaty  Georgia  was 
no  otherwise  a  party  than  as  she  was  bound  by  the  terms  and  stipu- 
lations of  it  when  constitutionally  made,  as  one  of  the  States  of  the 
Confederacy.  It  has  not  been  settled  how  far,  in  forming  treaties 
of  boundary,  the  treaty-making  power  can  proceed  in  surrendering, 
without  their  consent,  territory  claimed  by  the  States.  Apart  from 
any  constitutional  doubts  about  it,  it  would  seem  sufficiently  evident 
in  the  eye  of  justice  and  equity,  that,  if  the  United  States,  in  a  treaty 
of  boundary  with  any  foreign  State,  should  exercise  the  power  of 
conceding  the  territory  of  a  State  without  her  consent,  such  State 
would  have  a  fair  claim  of  indemnity  or  equivalent  against  the 
United  States — exclusive  sacrifices  by  one  State  not  being  demand- 
able  of  right  b}T  the  United  States  for  the  common  benefit  of  all  the 
States.  If.  therefore,  the  United  States,  under  the  Spanish  treaty. 
had  knowingly,  or  otherwise,  surrendered  territory  of  Georgia  to 
Spain.  Georgia,  under  any  circumstances,  would  have  a  just  claim 
of  indemnity  on  that  account  against  the  United  States,  if.  in  the 
course  of  events,  the  territory  so  surrendered  should  become  the 
property  of  the  United  States,  (Georgia,  in  the  meantime,  not  having 
been  indemnified,)  that  State  might  be  considered  as  having  a  just 
claim  on  the  United  States,  either  for  the  restoration  of  the  territory 
specifically,  or  its  equivalent.  If.  by  the  act  of  the  United  States. 
the  boundary  had  been  incorrectly  established  by  the  United  States, 
in  consequence  of  which  Georgia  lost  territory,  the  obligations  of  the 
one  party  and  the  rights  of  the  other  would  not  have  been  weakened 
on  that  account.  Georgia  would  still  have  lost  territory,  not  by  her 
own  act  of  omission,  but  by  the  act  or  omission  of  the  United  States. 
The  United  States  would  be  bound,  and  most  strongly  bound,  by  her 
own  act;  if  that  act  produced  benefit  to  Georgia,  Georgia  might  take 
advantage  of  it.  The  United  Stat'1-  could  not,  by  such  an  act. 
acquire  benefit  to  themselves  at  the  expense  of  Georgia.  The  rights 
of  Georgia  are  independent  of  any  act  of  the  Commissioner  of  the 
United  States,  charged  with  carrying  into  effect  the  treaty  with 
Spain :  they  rest  on  her  own  charter,  on  the  treaty  of  peace,  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  and  her  own  Constitution. 

If  the  United  States'  Commissioner  was  correct  in  establishing  the 
true  line,  Georgia  will  cheerfully  acquiesce.  If  he  was  incorrect,  the 
United  States  will  not  consider  his  act  as  binding  and.  obligatory  on 
Georgia :  more  especially,  as  now  the  question  is  not  between  the 
United  States  and  Spain,  but  between  the  United  States  and  Georgia : 
and  the  more  especially  too,  as  the  line  not  having  been  yet  run  and 
marked  by  the  joint  act  of  the  United  States  and  Georgia,  the  ques- 
tion may  be  considered  open  for  the  ascertainment  of  the  true  line. 
If  the  mound  B,  therefore,  and  the  true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  shall 
coincide,  or  nearly  coincide,  we  would  have  no  objection  to  that 
mound  as  the  point  of  departure.  If,  by  his  N.  E.  line  of  640  perches, 
Mr.  Ellicott  has  passed  the  head  or  source  of  the  river,  or  if.  by  his 


[Doc.  Xo.  43.]  41 

stipulating  the  termination  of  the  mile  duo  north  from  the  mound,  as 
the  true  point,  the  line  shall  pass  to  the  north  of  the  head  or  source 
of  the  river,  it  will  not  be  expected  by  the  United  States  that  Georgia 
will  adopt  that  line  as  matter  of  course. 

The  Commissioner  assumed  the  right  so  far  to  depart  from  the 
letter  of  the  treaty,  as  to  adopt,  as  the  point  of  termination  of  de- 
parture, not  the  head  or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's,  but  a  point  one  mile 
due  north  from  the  mound  B.  whether  the  source  or  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  fell  within  and  south  of  that  point,  or  not:  whilst,  therefore, 
the  United  States  may  be  governed  by  that  point,  if  the  head  of  the 
St.  Mary's  should  be  found  north  of  it,  the  State  of  Georgia  will 
not  be  governed  by  the  same  point  if  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's 
should  be  found  south  of  it.  Georgia  can  rightfully  resort  to  the 
true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,  if  she  finds  benefit  or  advantage  in  doing 
so,  no  matter  whether  that  head  be  found  within  the  X.  E.  line  of 
(>-t0  perches,  or  south  of  it,  that  being  the  true  point  recognized  by 
the  treaty.  The  United  States  cannot  take  advantage  of  their  own 
error  to  occasion  loss  to  Georgia;  but  Georgia  can  insist  on  the  act 
of  the  United  States  as  obligatory  on  themselves,  whether  the  United 
States  suffer  loss  by  it  or  not.  Georgia  is  not  disposed  to  derive  to 
herself  advantage  from  any  error  or  mistake  committed  by  the  United 
States.  In  this  respect,  she  will  be  satisfied  with  a  result  that  will 
approximate  nearly  to  her  just  claim-  under  the  charter,  the  treaties. 
and  the  Constitution.  The  Governor  does  not  undertake  to  decide 
that  the  point  at  which  the  Commissioners  have  c  >mmenced  is  not 
the  true  point :  because  he  has  no  means  of  ascertaining  whether  that 
point  coincides  or  nearly  coincides,  with  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's. 
The  Commissioners  are  best  qualified  to  determine  that  fact.  lie 
only  suggests  to  the  Commissioner  of  Georgia  the  propriety  of  adopt- 
ing, as  his  guide,  not  what  has  actually  been  done  by  the  commis- 
sioner of  the  United  States  under  the  treaty  of  L795,  but  what,  ac- 
cording to  that  and  other  treaties,  ought  to  have  been  done.  As.  in 
a  transaction  of  this  kind  with  the  United  States,  there  can  exist  no 
motive  for  concealment  or  disguise,  and  the  less  so  because  of  the 
high  and  honorable  character  of  the  gentleman  who  represents  the 
United  States,  you  are  at  liberty  to  disclose  to  him.  without  reserve. 
the  contents  of  this  paper.  If  the  views  presented  b}^  it  are  not  in 
accordance  with  his  own,  he  will  candidly  inform  you  what  his 
own  are. 

The  propriety  of  recognizing  the  grants  of  Georgia,  for  lands 
which  may  be  left  out  by  the  permanent  line,  is  obvious,  and  would 
have  been  expected  from  the  well  known  liberality  of  Gov.  Randolph. 

It  was  not  the  intention  of  the  instructions  that  the  mound  near 
to  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  should  be  taken  as 
the  point  of  termination  or  departure,  but  the  junction  itself.  What- 
ever be  the  result  of  the  joint. proceedings  of  the  two  Commissioners, 
permit  me  to  suggest  the  expediency  of  (provided  the  season  should 
prove  favorable  for  the  object)  an  accurate  survey,  if  practicable, 
of  the  course  of  the  St.  Mary's,  from  the  mound  B,  to  its  true  source. 
Should  the  true  source  not  be  found  at  the  mound  B,  but  above  it. 
it  is  very  desirable,  for  more  reasons  than  one,  that  all  doubts  on  this 
subject  should  be  removed,  and  on  the  highest  authority. 

You  will  not  attempt  it  without  the  concurrence  of  Governor 
Randolph,  who,  I  am  persuaded,  will  not  withhold  that  concurrence, 


42  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

particularly  as  the  adjustment  of  any  unfortunate  difference  which 
may  be  the  result  of  your  common  efforts,  must  chiefly  depend  on 
a  knowledge  of  this  fact. 

Very  respectfully  and  sincerely  yours, 

G.  M.  TROUP. 
To  Thos.  Spalding.  Esq. 

< Commissioner,  dc. 


Encampment  in  the  Woods, 
Near  tin   junction  of  Flint  and  Ghattahoochie, 

Tuesday,  April  10,  L827. 

Dear  Sir:  For  your  prompt  communication  of  the  recent  de- 
spatches received  by  you  from  Governor  Troup.  I  make  my  cordial 
acknowledgment.  I  shall  certainly  have  no  hesitation  in  communi- 
cating to  you  Avhatever  instructions  I  may  receive  on  this  occasion: 
for.  a-  I  understand  our  duty,  there  '-an  be  no  collision  or  misunder- 
standing bearing  any  relation  to  it:  a-  we  have  merely  to  complete 
operations  formerly  commenced,  and  left  unfinished,  having  their 
foundation  in  views  and  decisions  settled  by  an  acquiescence  <>f 
twenty-seven  year-  on  the  part  of  Georgia,  and  even  acted  upon  by 
her  authorities  on  more  than  one  occasion  before,  of  the  same  nature 
with  this.  I  can  do  no  more  than  co-operate  with  y  >u  in  carrying 
into  execution  an  act  of  Congress,  by  running  a  straight  line,  which 
can  only  mean  the  shortest  possible  line  between  two  points  geograph- 
ically determined  twenty-seven  year-  ago.  The  eastern  point  i-  that 
designated  by  the  commissioners  Ellicott  and  Minor,  who  have  dis- 
tinctly declared  that  the  head  of  St.  Mary"-  i-  so  far  indeterminate, 
that  it  lies  within  a  certain  described  circle  of  considerable  radius, 
and  has  a  certain  longitude  and  latitude:  but  ha-  never  beeu  marked 
or  described  in  any  other  way.  or  even  found  with  certainty  a-  yet. 

The  western  point  i-  the  junction  of  the  water-  of  two  rivers,  by 
which  is  plainly  meant  the  extremity  of  the  tongue  of  land  between 
them,  or  that  spot  upon  which,  when  you  stand,  one  of  your  arms 
is  extended  over  the  water  of  one  river,  and  the  other  over  those  of 
the  other  river.  It  is  obvious  that  the  river  must,  at  the  time  of 
decision,  be  completely  within  it-  bank-,  and  yet  not  at  the  lowest 
state  of  its  waters.  The  western  point  once  fixed  upon  thus,  and  a 
proper  trigonometrical  calculation  made,  a  line  may  be  run  by  the 
compass,  making  a  calculated  deflexion  from  an  ordinary  compass 
or  thumb  line,  which  is  demonstrably  the  shortest  line  between  the 
two  points,  and  therefore  the  straight  line  demanded.  A-  the  Com- 
missioner of  the  United  States.  Ellicott.  has  given  the  course  ami 
deflexion  wanted,  with  the  calculation  by  which  he  arrived  at  it.  I 
do  not  think  any  other  should  be  attempted,  and  I  am  willing  to 
proceed  immediately  with  that.  I  should  be  satisfied,  myself,  to  co- 
operate with  you  in  a  further  investigation  to  find  the  -mi ice  of  the 
St.  Mary's  river,  and  a  more  exact  demonstration  of  its  locality:  but 
I   have  no   authority   to   concur   in   such  id   not 

suffer  myself  to  indulge  one  moment'-  thought  about  it:  beside-.  I 
believe  the  .-aid  source  not  only  to  be  indeterminate,  but  indetermin- 
able by  any  geometrical  or  any  physical  process  whatever.     If  the 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  43 

river  derived  its  supply  of  water  from  springs,  that  which  furnished 
the  most  water  in  the  course  of  the  year  might  be  found  and  de- 
clared to  be  the  head  spring,  or  that  which  happened  to  be  the 
farthest  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.  But,  in  fact,  the  river  in 
question  has  its  origin  in  a  marshy  country,  of  great  extent,  with 
few  or  no  springs,  deriving  its  waters  from  rain  altogether;  of  course, 
affording  unequal  supplies  from  any  given  surface,  in  any  given  time. 
In  such  a  case,  the  dispute  could  be  settled  by  compromise  only, 
and  such  a  compromise  was  made  in  the  most  regular  manner  twenty- 
seven  years  ago,  accepted  with  consent  at  the  time  by  Georgia,  and 
never  complained  of  until  now. 

It  is  my  opinion  that  a  better  could  not  now  be  made  by  any 
persons  whatever,  nor  can  I  believe  that  any  cession  was  made  of 
territory  belonging  to  Georgia.  An  adjustment  of  boundaries  with 
Spain  then  can  no  more  be  considered  a  cession  of  territory  belong- 
ing to  a  State,  than  with  Great  Britain  now,  under  the  treaty  of 
Ghent.  To  conclude,  it  is  my  deliberate  opinion  that  we  ought  not 
to  proceed  any  further  at  present,  but  separate,  consult  the  author- 
ities by  which  we  are  ^constituted,  and  meet  again  in  November  to 
finish  then.  I  am  willing  to  concur  with  you  as  far  as  I  can  without 
compromitting  myself. 

Pardon  my  bad  writing:  I  am  willing  to  do  every  thing  in  my 
power,  and  I  conscientiously  believe  myself  competent  to  what  I 
have  undertaken,  both  in  mind  and  body;  but  if  penmanship  be  a 
necessary  requisite,  I  may  retire  from  the  undertaking  with  as  much 
despatch  as  I  should  with  satisfaction,  having  no  motive  whatever 
to  influence  me,  but  barely  the  determination  to  do  my  duty  as  ac- 
curately as  I  possibly  can,  however  roughly  it  may  be. 

Permit  me  to  declare  my  high  esteem  and  cordial  regard  for 
yourself,  and  gratify  me  so  far  as  to  assure  Governor  Troup  of  my 
continued  sentiments  of  admiration  for  his  character. 

Your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

TH.   M.    KANDOLPH. 
T.  Spalding,  Esq.  Commissioner,  &c. 


Executive  Department,  Georgia, 

Milledgeville,  18th  April,  1827. 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  received  your  despatch  of  the  10th  instant  this 
afternoon.  I  am  not  insensible  to  the  many  difficulties  you  have 
had  to  encounter  in  running  the  line;  difficulties  rendered  support- 
able only  by  the  harmonious  and  friendly  intercourse  which  has 
been  uninterruptedly  maintained,  and  very  much  to  my  own  gratifica- 
tion, between  Governor  Randolph  and  yourself.  Reposing  the  high- 
est confidence  in  your  patriotism  and  ability,  it  was  already  known 
to  me  that  the  rights  and  interests  of  Georgia  would  be  sustained 
as  they  ought  to  be,  and  that,  at  your  hands,  they  could  suffer  no 
detriment  but  from  causes  for  which  you  could  by  no  means  be  held 
responsible.  It  was  equally  well  known,  that  if  Georgia  suffered 
injury  by  the  agency  of  Governor  Randolph,  the  fault  or  blame 
would  not  be  his ;  he  would  willingly  do  wrong  to  nobody. 

It  was  apprehended,  on  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  12th 
ultimo,  that  there  must  be  something  imperative  in  the  instructions 

43064— S.  Doc.  467.  60-1 6 


44  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

of  the  United  States'  Commissioner,  which  prohibited  him  from 
adopting  the  mound.  It  is  now  certain  that  his  instructions,  given 
in  conformity  with  the  act  of  Congress,  limit  him  expressly,  not 
to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,  but  to  the  point  agreed  on  by  the 
United  States  and  Spanish  Commissioners,  under  the  treaty  of  *;>:>. 
You  have  discovered,  to  your  own  satisfaction  at  least,  that  the  head 
of  the  St.  Mary's  is  different  from  and  south  of,  that  point,  and  even 
south  of  the  mound  itself.  There  is  no  alternative  now,  but  to 
adopt  the  proposition  of  Governor  Randolph,  and  postpone,  for  the 
present,  further  operations,  until  the  two  Governments  shall  come 
to  an  understanding  whether  the  line  adopted  by  Messrs.  Ellicott 
and  Minor,  under  the  influence  of  error  and  mistake,  and  in  a  spirit 
of  compromise,  shall  be  the  true  line,  or  whether  that  established  by 
the  charter  of  Georgia,  the  treaty  of  '83,  the  treaty  of  "!>:>.  and  the 
Constitution   of   Georgia,   shall  be. 

The  approach  of  the  hot  season,  on  a  low  and  marshy  country, 
abounding  with  insects,  and  exposing  you  and  your  party  to  disease, 
the  expense  of  running  and  marking  a  line,  which  may  or  may  not  be 
adopted  by  the  two  Governments,  the  temporary  evil  resulting  from 
conflicting  jurisdictions  to  which  the  establishment  of  such  a  line 
may  give  rise,  besides  the  apparent  countenance  and  sanction  given 
to  it  by  the  act  of  Georgia,  and  my  decided  impression  that  the 
Legislature  of  Georgia  will  not  consent  to  sanction  that  line,  all 
concur  in  recommending  the  expediency  of  discontinuing  your  opera- 
tions for  the  present.  It  is  true  that  the  act  of  Congress  cannot 
make  that  right  which  is  essentially  wrong:  it  cannot  legalize  contra- 
diction or  inconsistency:  it  cannot,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  into 
effect  the  treaty  of  '95,  assume  a  point  different  from  that  assumed  by 
the  treaty.  This  would  be  a  violation,  not  an  execution  of  the  treaty. 
The  United  States  had  not  the  power,  much  less  had  Mr.  Ellicott, 
to  designate  a  point  one  mile  north  of  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's. 
The  United  States  and  Spain,  in  carrying  that  treaty  into  effect,  had 
not  the  power  to  do  it.  to  the  injury  of  a  third  party.  Mr.  Ellicott 
himself  had  no  conception  that  he  was  vested  with  any  discretion 
to  do  so.  lie  sought  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  as  the  only  true 
point:  if  he  missed  it.  it  will  not  be  made  a  question  whether  Georgia 
and  the  United  States  shall  take  the  treaty  itself,  or  Mr.  Ellicott's 
mistake,  as  their  rule  of  conduct. 

Whilst,  therefore,  it  was  plain  enough  that  Congress  had  adopted 
the  mistake  of  Mr.  Ellicott.  it  was  sincerely  hoped  that  the  instruc- 
tions to  Governor  Randolph  might  so  far  deviate  from  the  letter  of 
the  act  as  to  have  permitted  him  to  adopt  the  letter  of  the  treaty, 
rather  than  the  letter  of  the  act  inconsistent  with  it:  and  the  more  so, 
as  the  one  is  the  supreme  law.  the  other  not.  It  is  not  designed  to 
enter  upon  a  discus-ion  of  this  matter  here,  but  (in  passing)  it  is 
well  to  remark  that  the  United  States"  Commissioner  is  under  a  mis- 
apprehension when  he  believes  that  Georgia  has  acquiesced  for 
twenty-seven  years  in  the  correctness  of  the  work  of  Mr.  Ellicott  and 
Mr.  Minor.  Georgia  lias  given  no  sign  or  demonstration  of  such  ac- 
quiescence, either  express  or  implied,  within  that  time.  On  the  con- 
trary, when  any  question  occurred  requiring  any  sign  or  demonstra- 
tion in  relation  to  it,  Georgia  has  invariably  looked  to  the  head  or 
source  of  the  St.  Mary's  as  the  true  point :  and  it  is  known  to  you, 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  45 

that,  many  years  since,  looking  to  that  source  as  the  only  true  point, 
her  Legislature  had  authorized  commissions  charged  with  the  ascer- 
tainment of  the  true  head  or  source  of  that  river,  and  with  a  view,  as 
expressly  stated  in  their  resolutions,  to  the  correction  of  any  error 
which  may  have  been  committed  by  Mr.  Ellicott.  The  results  of 
those  commissions  were  communicated  to  the  War  Department,  for 
the  information  of  the  President. 

The  President  may  believe  himself  authorized  to  conform  the  in- 
structions of  the  Commissioner  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty;  if  so.  your 
operations  can  be  renewed  in  the  Fall.  Otherwise,  an  opportunity 
must  be  afforded  to  the  Congress  to  reconsider  the  subject,  that  the 
provisions  of  the  act  may  be  made  to  correspond  with  the  provisions 
of  the  treaty. 

With  great  consideration,  dear  sir. 

Your  friend  and  servant. 

CxEOPvGE  M.  TROUP. 
To  Thomas  Spalding,  Esq. 

Commissioner,  <&c. 
Copied  from  the  original. 

J.  G.  BELL.  Seen  tary,  c&c. 


Encampment   in   the   Woods, 
Near  tin-  function  of  Flint  cml  Chattahoochie, 

Tuesday,  A /nil  10.  1827. 
Dear  Sir:  "Without  entering  further  into  the  discussion,  at  tin- 
time,  of  what  ought  to  have  been  the  boundary  line  between  Georgia 
and  Florida.  I  believe  I  shall  but  consult  the  interests  of  both  by 
joining  with  you  in  extending  the  line  between  the  junction  of  the 
Flint  and  the  Chattachoochie  rivers,  and  the  point  of  our  departure 
at  St.  Mary's.  If.  hereafter,  the  Governments  we  represent  believe 
the  object  worthy  of  a  more  deliberate  examination.  I  rely,  with  con- 
fidence, that  justice  will  not  be  denied  to  the  party  that  might  be 
aggrieved  by  our  determination.  And  I  beg  of  you  to  accept  assur- 
ances of  my  sincere  respect  and  esteem. 

T.  SPALDING. 
To  Gov.  Randolph.  Commissioner,  &e.  d-<-. 


Encampment  ox  the  Wythlacoochie, 
Between  McNeiVs  and  McBride's  Lines, 

April  26,  1827. 
My  Dear  Sir:  Having  this  moment  returned  from  the  compass 
and  chain  party.  I  am  the  better  reconciled  to  the  manifest  result  of 
the  intelligence  communicated  by  having  just  found  the  return  line 
intersect  the  Wythlacoochie  twice  upon  this  day:  thereby  leaving  a 
slip  of  land  on  its  north  and  east  side  belonging  to  Florida,  and 
another  smaller  slip  on  its  opposite  side  belonging  to  Georgia.  The 
torrents  of  rain  lately  fallen,  which  bar  our  passage  eastward  from 
this,  by  the  swell  of  small  creeks,  at  present,  have,  of  course  swelled  the 
Wythlacoochie  also  so  greatly  as  to  make  long  offsets,  upon  uneven 
and  roughly  covered  ground,  absolutely  necessary,  and  I  left  the  sur- 
veyor employed  in  making  them.     He  has.  in  person,  swam  the  river 


46  [Doc,  No.  43.] 

once,  with  every  man  of  the  party  this  time,  and  would  have  it  to 
swim  again  twice  more:  indeed,  it  is  by  no  means  certainly  otherwise 
than  twice  more  in  addition,  if  we  were  to  deny  him  the  facility  of  an 
offset,  the  error  of  which  (and  such  operations  are  never  without 
error)  must  inevitably  be  carried  on.  augmenting  with  the  distance. 
to  the  eastern  end  of  the  line,  as  already  agreecT  upon  according  to 
the  previous  understanding  between  us  of  our  respective  authorities. 
Now,  all  our  consolation  hitherto  has  been  derived  from  the  hope 
that  we  should,  in  returning,  strike  so  very  close  to  the  point  of  our 
original  departure  as  to  satisfy  all  minds,  and  put  an  end  to  ques- 
tions about  boundaries  older  than  the  Government  of  Georgia  itself, 
as  much  older  as  that  is  than  our  United  States.  All  such  hope  being 
now  extinguished.  I  cannot  pass  over  this  opportunity,  hurried  and 
constrained  in  conveniences  as  it  is.  to  make  it  publicly  known,  for 
future  benefit,  that,  at  another  and  a  healthier  season  than  that  of 
the  tropical  rains,  which  we  have  lately  borne  without  any  other  roof 
than  a  very  flimsy  tent,  it  would  be  quite  pleasant  to  ford  the  same 
river,  not  more  than  knee  deep,  at  the  very  same  places.  The  offset 
which  became  absolutely  necessary  at  the  Oclocknie.  had  already 
given  us  discouragement  enough. 

This  is  the  time  for  me  to  write,  what  I  have  repeatedly  said  to 
you,  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  ordered  the  Secretary 
of  War  to  give  me  the  act  of  Congress,  and  the  report  of  the  com- 
missioners appointed  in  consequence  of  the  obligatory  provisions  of 
the  treaty  between  Spain  and  the  United  States,  of  October.  1795,  as 
all  my  instructions,  accompanied  with  the  usual  injunctions  of  all 
possible  economy  in  the  expenditure  of  the  appropriation,  which  a 
hope  was  expressed  might  be  found  more  than  sufficient,  and  a  charge 
as  to  accountability,  with  a  requisition  to  note  and  communicate  all 
the  information  I  might  probably  obtain,  geographical  or  other, 
which  might  possibly  be  of  use  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  at  any  future  time.  I  did  myself  raise  the  question  about  the 
meaning  of  the  term  "  junction  of  the  rivers,"  believing,  before,  that 
the  geographical  position  of  the  two  ends  of  the  line  had  been  long 
ago  settled,  and  unexpectedly  finding  that  the  eastern  was  disputed, 
I,  naturally  enough,  threw  open  that  of  the  western  also,  by  showing 
that  it  was  fairly  disputable :  for  Watson  had.  ex  parte,  determined 
it  for  Georgia,  supposing  the  decision  of  Ellicott  and  Minor  rejected, 
and  McXeil  had  adopted  Watson's  decision.  Xow.  Watson's  mark 
of  the  western  extremity  is  many  feet  higher  than  that  of  McXeil. 
upon  the  same  trees,  of  a  kind  which  cannot  live  out  of  water:  and 
the  latter  is  one  mile,  or  perhaps  more,  to  judge  by  the  eye  and  report, 
without  measuring,  below  the  real  "  junction  "  of  the  waters  of  the 
rivers,  which  have  really  been  blended  that  distance  above,  at  the 
point  where  the  banks  before  separate,  and  identifying  the  different 
rivers,  have  united.  I  did  also  give  it  as  my  private  opinion,  that 
the  Spanish  words  used  in  the  treaty  of  1795.  had  been  falsely  trans- 
lated :  for  it  did  not  mean  head  springs,  but  source  or  origin  of  the 
river  St.  Mary's.  ("  nacimiento,")  which  makes  a  very  important 
difference:  for  that  river  had  its  origin  in  very  extensive  marshes, 
which  are  supplied  entirely  by  rain  water,  and  not  at  all  by  springs; 
although,  no  doubt,  some  feeble  head  spring  might  be  found  to  be 
the  furthest  off  from  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and,  possibly,  further 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  47 

south  than  the  point  agreed  upon  and  designated  by  Ellicott  and 
Minor  as  the  geographical  position  of  the  true  source  of  the  river. 
But  these  are  questions  to  be  decided  by  higher  powers  and  intelli- 
gence than  ours,  and  I  drop  them  altogether.  I  conclude,  then,  by 
assuring  you,  in  writing,  what  I  have  already  done  often  enough  in 
speech,  that  my  predilection  would  certainly  be  for  Georgia  on  all 
questions,  as  I  now  very  bitterly  regret  my  not  having  settled  there 
in  1803,  as  I  deliberately  then  intended,  were  I  not  completely  re- 
strained at  all  times,  first  by  an  enthusiastic  republican  honesty,  and 
next  by  my  feelings  for  the  little  State  of  Florida,  which  is  now  so 
very  near  its  birth  to  a  destiny  very  high  indeed,  if  anticipations  are 
allowable;  founded  upon  the  felicity  of  its  climate,  the  fertility  of 
its  soil,  and  its  most  extraordinary  hydrographical  advantages  for 
uniting,  with  facility  and  cheapness,  the  ocean  and  the  gulf. 

Let  me  not  omit  to  assure  you  that  my  proposal  to  discontinue  pro- 
ceedings while  we  were  still  on  the  Apalachicola,  proceeded  from  the 
extreme  anxiety  I  had  all  along  felt  at  never  having  received  from  the 
Department  of  War  the  report  of  Ellicott  and  Minor,  the  journal  of 
the  former,  an  authentic  document,  having  been  all  along  my  sole 
guide;  and  for  the  satisfaction  I  felt  in  the  relief  from  that  anxiety 
afforded  by  the  declaration  of  Governor  Troup,  that  Georgia  would 
not  be  bound  by  any  decision  that  we  might  make  upon  the  ground  the 
act  of  Congress  had  compelled  me  to  take :  for  I  did  then,  and  I  do 
now,  sincererly  believe  that  I  was  running  much  risk  in  proceeding 
throughout  without  authority,  which  could  give  right  to  any  conclu- 
sion in  which  I  was  concerned,  and  which  T  might  fail  ultimately  to 
receive  in  time,  as  it  had  been  promised  me  immediately  by  a  letter 
from  the  Department  of  War,  dated  December  23d  last,  and  had  not 
then  or  now  arrived.  I  trust  you  will  not  forget,  what  you  have  often 
acknowledged,  and  Mr.  McBride  has  constantly  confirmed,  that  the 
water  was  entirely  too  cold  for  him  and  his  men  to  have  carried  chain 
and  compass  through  the  marsh  of  fifteen  miles  of  uninterrupted 
length,  at  any  time  earlier  in  the  spring  than  the  first  of  March,  when 
we  commenced. 

I  cannot  let  this  opportunity  pass  without  testifying  zealously  to 
the  high  moral  and  intellectual  worth,  the  scientific  attainments,  the 
hardihood,  perseverance,  and  determined  resolution,  with  the  excel- 
lent disposition  for  republican  command,  of  that  gentleman.  Any 
unlucky  choice  of  character  for  this  party  which  you  may  have  made, 
I  forget  in  the  strong  feelings  of  esteem  and  kindly  regard  which  I 
shall  ever  entertain  for  yourself,  as  also  of  gratitude  and  admiration 
for  your  charming  family,  now  enjoying  in  tranquility  all  the  de- 
lights of  Sapelo,  where  you  will  soon  have  the  felicity  to  join  them. 

I  part  in  perfect  good  will  to  all,  forgiving  that  rudeness  in  some 
of  your  men,  which  is  founded,  perhaps,  in  temperament,  but  is. 
nevertheless,  truly  painful,  in  its  effects,  to  men  of  my  age,  who  love 
quiet,  and  literature,  and  science,  alone,  in  this  world,  after  their  own 
family. 

Permit  me  then,  before  I  conclude,  to  express  my  very  high  esteem 
for  Mr.  Bell,  whose  deportment,  conduct,  manners,  and  opinions,  have 
been  entirely  unexceptionable  to  this  hour  from  that  of  our  leaving 
Darien. 


48  [Doc.  No.  43.1 

I  will  reply  to  the  latter  part  of  your  letter  tomorrow,  when 
have  more  time,  and  shall  have  given  more  consideration  to  it. 
I  am,  my  dear  sir, 

Most  sincerely,  your  friend, 

As  well  as  your  most  obd't  ser'vt, 

T.  M.  RANDOLPH,  Sen. 
T.  Spalding,  Esq.  Commissioner,  c&c. 

A  true  copy  from  the  original. 

J.  G.  B.  Secretary,  &c. 


Near  the  Wythlacoochie, 

April  27,  1827. 

My  dear  Sir:  Accept  my  thanks  for  the  kindly  sentiments  con- 
tained in  your  letter  of  yesterday,  in  reply  to  mine  communicating 
Gov.  Troup's  instructions. 

I  certainly  conceive  that,  from  the  nature  of  the  country  in  which 
we  have  been  acting,  our  labors  could  not  have  been  carried  on  in  the 
winter;  and  this  I  believe  to  have  been  the  opinion  also  of  Mr.  Mc- 
Bride. 

Will  you  permit  me  to  say,  in  the  closing  of  our  labors,  that  the 
direct  control  of  our  men  in  camp  was  what,  in  the  commencement  of 
our  undertaking,  was  as  little  in  my  expectation  as  in  my  inclination, 
and  that  our  situation  did  not  admit  any  careful  selection  of  persons 
for  the  service. 

The  boisterous  hilarity  of  some,  I  have  too  often  felt  to  be  little 
reconcileable  to  the  tastes  of  either  3^ourself  or  myself;  but  I  hope  and 
believe  that  soon  all  that  was  wrong  will  be  forgotten,  and  only  what 
may  be  pleasant  to  remember,  will  be  remembered  by  either  of  us. 

For  myself,  my  dear  sir,  anxious  for  your  esteem,  I  shall  be  proud 
of  your  recollections. 

With  esteem  and  respect,  &c. 

To  Gov.  Randolph.  .  T.  SPALDING. 


Department  of  War,  May  22,  1827. 
Sir:  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  the  copies  of  the  correspond- 
ence between  you  and  the  Georgia  Commissioners,  and  regret  the  cir- 
cumstances which  have  made  it  necessary  to  discontinue  your  opera- 
tions in  running  the  dividing  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida.  As 
your  duties,  therefore,  have  ceased  for  the  present,  you  can  return  to 
your  home  as  soon  as  it  may  suit  your  convenience  to  do  so.  Previous 
io  which,  however,  I  request  your  attention  to  the  case  of  Major 
Baley,  which  was,  some  time  since,  referred  to  you  for  your  examina- 
tion and  report. 

I  have,  &c.  &c. 

JAMES  BARBOUR. 
To  Thomas  M.  Randolph,  Esq. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  49 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  copies 
of  communications  from,  the  Governor  of  Georgia,  relating  to  the 
line  dividing  that  State  from,  the  Territory  of  Florida. 

To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 

Washington,  22c?  Jam/art/.  1828. 

By  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  the  documents  from 
that  department,  exhibited  to  Congress  at  the  commencement  of  their 
present  session,  they  were  advised  of  the  measures  taken  for  carrying 
into  execution  the  act  of  4th  May.  1826,  to  authorize  the  President  of 
the  United  States  to  run  and  mark  a  line  dividing  the  Territory  of 
Florida  from  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  of  their  unsuccessful  result : 
I  now  transmit  to  Congress  copies  of  communications  received  from 
the  Governor  of  Georgia,  relating  to  that  subject. 

JOHN  QUIXCY  ADAMS. 


Executive  Department, 

Milled  geville,  20th  Nov.  1827. 
Sir:  On  the  question  which  has  arisen  between  the  State  of  Georgia 
and  the  United  States,  during  the  recent  effort  to  mark  the  boundary 
line  between  this  State  and  the  Territory  of  Florida,  it  will,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, be  satisfactory  to  you  to  examine,  before  the  meeting  of  Con- 
gress, the  evidence  on  which  the  State  relies  to  establish  the  fact,  that 
the  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  is  the  lake  or  spring  from  which  issues 
the  most  southern  branch  of  that  river,  and  therefore,  the  spot  at 
which  must  terminate  the  straight  line  to  be  drawn  from  the  junction 
of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers,  according  to  the  second  article 
of  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Spain  of  the  27th  of 
October,  1795.  The  subject  having  been  brought  before  the  General 
Assembly  by  my  predecessor,  and  not  yet  acted  on  by  them,  it  would 
be  improper  for  me  to  do  more,  in  transmitting  that  evidence,  than  to 
request  your  attention  to  it;  no  doubt  being  entertained  that  its  force 
and  importance  will  be  duly  weighed. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

With  perfect  consideration, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 
The  President  of  the  United  States. 


Copy  of  the  report  of  -J <din  McBride,  Esq.  relative  to  the  source  of 
the  St.  Mary's  river. 

Eatonton,  August  7,  1827. 
Sir:  Agreeably  to  your  instructions  of  the  20th  of  June  last,  re- 
quiring me,  under  the  direction  of  Thomas  Spalding,  Esq.,  Commis- 
sioner, to  ascertain  the  true  head  or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  I 
proceeded  immediately  to  Darien,  in  order  to  join  Mr.  Spalding.    For 


50  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

reasons  which  he  has  detailed  to  you.  Mr.  Spalding  believed  it  un- 
necessary that  he  should  accompany  me  in  the  tour,  and  superintend, 
personally,  the  discharge  of  the  duties  confided  to  us.  After  receiv- 
ing from  him  every  requisite  aid  in  procuring  supplies  and  transpor- 
tation, and,  at  my  request,  his  written  instructions,  I  repaired,  with- 
out delay,  to  the  region  which  1  was  to  examine,  and  arrived  at  Fil- 
man's  on  the  3d  of  July. 

By  reference  to  the  chart  which  accompanies  this  report,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  St.  Mary's  is  formed  by  three  principal  branches — the 
north,  the  west,  and  the  south.  To  ascertain  the  source  of  each  of 
these  branches,  their  length,  and  relative  magnitude  at  their  points 
of  confluence  with  each  other,  was  considered  the  object  of  my  mis- 
sion. And,  having  learned  that  the  north  and  south  branches  unite 
about  four  miles  below  the  mound  A,  or  Commissioners'  Encamp- 
ment. I  proceeded  to  that  point,  and  carefully  measured  the  width, 
depth,  and  velocity  of  the  current  of  each  branch,  both  at  the  junc- 
tion and  about  half  a  mile  above  it.  From  the  mean  result  of  these 
observations,  it  appears  that  the  south  branch  discharges  1,369,  and 
the  north  branch  993  cubic  feet  of  water  per  minute.  Hence,  the 
south  branch  .is  to  the  north  as  1,369  to  993,  or  very  nearly  as  40  to  29. 
A  traverse  was  commenced  near  the  junction,  and  continued  up  the 
south  branch  to  the  outlet  of  Lake  Spalding,  about  thirty  miles,  and 
another  traverse  four  miles  in  length,  connecting  Lake  Spalding  with 
Lake  Randolph.  These  are  beautiful  lakes  of  transparent  water;  the 
former  suj^posed  to  be  nine  miles  in  circumference;  the  latter,  twelve. 
As  no  soundings  could  be  made,  their  depth  is  unknown.  The  sources 
of  the  south  and  west  branch  being  thus  ascertained,  the  volume  of 
water  contained  in  the  north  and  west  branches  was  then  measured 
at  their  junction,  and  the  following  result  obtained: 

Cubic  feet  of  water  discharged  by  the  north  branch  in  one  minute.  159 
Do.  do.  west  branch         do.  238 

The  fact  is  then  clearly  established,  that,  of  the  three  branches  into 
which  that  St.  Mary's  is  divided,  the  south  is  the  greatest,  and  the 
north,  is  the  least,  though  it  is  represented  by  Messrs.  Ellicott  and 
Minor  as  the  principal.  The  only  criteria  for  determining  the  prin- 
cipal branch  of  a  river  must  be  in  length,  volume  of  water,  and  gen- 
eral direction:  and  these  all  coincide  in  the  south  branch  of  the  St. 
Mary's.  It  is  three  miles  longer  than  either  of  the  other  branches, 
and  discharges  one-third  more  water  than  both  of  them  together.  Its 
general  direction  agree-  with  that  of  the  lower  section  of  the  river 
much  better  than  either  of  the  other  branches.  If  a  line  be  drawn 
from  Point  Petre  to  the  confluence  of  the  north  and  south  branches, 
and  indefinitely  produced  toward  the  southwest,  it  will  pass  through 
Lake  Spalding,  the  source  of  the  south  branch. 

It  had  been  intended  to  make  a  running  survey  of  the  north  branch 
also,  but,  from  the  very  satisfactory  nature  of  the  information  already 
obtained,  together  with  some  previous  knowledge  of  the  sources  of  the 
north  branch,  this  intention  was  abandoned,  believing  that  a  further 
examination,  while  it  would  be  attended  with  additional  expense, 
could  be  productive  of  no  real  utility. 

In  collecting  information  respecting  the  topography  of  the  country 
which  it  had  become  my  duty  to  examine.  I  availed  myself  of  the  aid 
which  could  be  afforded  by  the  inhabitants.     Though  the  population 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  51 

is  extremely  sparse,  yet  no  country  is  better  known  than  this.  Resort- 
ing thither  for  the  benefits  of  the  chase,  and  for  the  pasturage  of 
immense  herds  of  cattle,  their  knowledge  of  the  country  is  extensive 
and  accurate:  and  experience  has  proven  that  information  derived 
from  them  may  be  safely  confided  in.  Messrs.  Cone,  Brown,  Barbour. 
Jernigan,  and  Sparkman,  of  Camden  county,  and  Filman,  Ellis, 
Parrish,  and  Long,  of  Florida,  have  freely  communicated  any  infor- 
mation that  has  been  reqtvested  of  them :  and  I  have  the  satisfaction  ot 
being  able  to  inform  your  Excellency,  that,  in  support  of  my  own  opin- 
ion, chiefly  founded  upon  actual  admeasurement,  these  men  have  no 
doubt  but  that  the  north  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's  is  less  than  either  of 
the  other  two.  and  that  it  can  have  no  just  pretensions  to  being  con- 
sidered the  principal.  By  Mr.  Filman,  who  lives  within  half  a  mile 
of  the  Pine  Log,  I  was  informed  that,  at  the  time  of  making  this 
examination,  the  whole  of  the  water  in  the  north  branch  was  afforded 
by  Alligator  creek,  and  that,  at  the  Pine  Log,  the  channel  was  dry  and 
dusty. 

The  United  Statesr  and  Spanish  Commissioners,  who,  in  1800,  at- 
tempted to  ascertain  the  source  of  the  St.  Mary's,  in  ascending  the  river 
with  their  canoes,  passed  the  junction  of  the  north  and  south  branches, 
considering  the  former  as  the  principal.  That  those  Commissioners 
should  have  made  an  erroneous  determination,  may  be  attributed  to 
the  deceptive  appearance  of  the  two  branches  at  their  confluence,  and 
to  the  peculiarly  unfavorable  season  in  which  their  investigations 
were  made.  The  channel  of  the  north  branch  is  wider  than  that  of 
the  south.  Its  depth  is  greater,  and  its  water  of  a  dark  reddish  color. 
At  the  point  of  disemboguement  the  south  branch  is  a  beautiful 
limpid  stream,  whose  narrow  channel  and  transparent  water  render 
it,  apparently,  one-third  less  than  the  north,  but  its  velocity  is  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  feet  per  minute,  while  that  of  the  north  branch 
is  only  thirty-eight.  The  disparity  of  width  in  these  branches  is  ac- 
counted by  the  difference  of  the  countries  in  which  they  have  their 
sources.  That  in  which  the  south  branch  rises  is  gently  undulating, 
and  the  transparency  and  low  temperature  of  the  water  prove  its 
origin  to  be  principally  in  springs.  The  vicinity  of  the  sources  of 
the  north  branch  is  frequently  an  extended  plane,  with  but  little 
elevation  or  depression,  which,  in  rainy  seasons,  is  completely  inun- 
dated for  many  mile-:  and  these  vast  sheets  of  water,  being  drained 
into  the  north  branch,  increase  its  volume  to  a  torrent,  which  forms 
a  channel  much  wider  than  the  south  branch.  When  the  United 
States'  and  Spanish  Commissioners  were  here  in  February,  1800, 
Mr.  Ellicott.  in  his  Journal,  informs  us  that  the  swamps,  at  that 
season  of  the  year,  were  "  absolutely  impenetrable."  in  consequence 
of  the  preceding  Winter's  rains.  We  cannot,  therefore,  be  surprised 
at  their  failure  to  make  a  correct  determination. 

The  loss  sustaned  by  Georgia  in  running  the  boundary,  according 
to  the  agreement  of  those  Commissioners,  is  a  triangle,  whose  base 
i.-,  157  miles,  its  perpendicular  30  miles,  and  area  2.335  square  miles, 
or  1,507,200' acres. 

Respecting  the  general  character  of  the  country  through  which 
our  southern  boundary  passes,  it  may  be  remarked,  that,  in  proceed- 
ing westwardly,  by  the  Pine  Log,  for  sixty-five  miles,  the  soil  is  ex- 
tremely barren,  and  swamps,  cypress  ponds,  bay  galls,  and  saw  pal- 
metto/abundant.    The  Suwanee  and  Allapaha  rivers  are  found  in  this 


52  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

section;  but  there  is  little  land  in  their  vicinity  that  can  ever  reward 
the  agriculturist  for  his  labors.  On  approaching  the  Wythlacoochie, 
the  face  of  the  country  is  much  altered.  Here  it  becomes  more  undu- 
lating, and  lime  pits  and  lakes  of  pellucid  water  are  skirted  by  slips 
of  fertile  land.  From  this,  the  soil  is  remarkable  only  for  its  sterility 
for  twenty-five  miles,  and  until  we  approach  the  Ocilla,  where  are 
found  tracts  of  excellent  land,  interspersed  with  lakes  and  deep 
morasses.  The  saw  palmetto  and  cypress  ponds  here  disappear,  but 
the  former  barrenness  of  soil  continues  generally  throughout  the 
remaining  part  of  the  boundary,  except  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Micka- 
suky  and  Yamonia  lakes,  the  Ucklockanne  river,  and  Attapulgas 
creek,  where  large  bodies  of  rich  loam  will  repay  the  purchaser  for 
his  adventure,  and  the  laborer  for  his  toil. 

With  considerations  of  respect,  your  Excellency's  most   obedient 
servant, 

JOHN  McBRIDE.  Surveyor. 

Gov.  Troup,  Milledgeville. 


.\<>f(.s  and  Estimates  made  in  ascertaining  the  volume  of  the  several 
branches  of  the  St.  Mary's  river. 

No.  1.  North  Branch,  {Junction  C.) 

Width        .--...  39.6  ft. 

Mean  depth  -  .('>('><; 

Velocity  of  the  surface  per  minute  -  -  44/2'j!* 

To  find  the  volume : 

V  44.22—  1  =  5.C>4<>. 
5.649Xi>'649=31.9,  the  velocity  of  the  bottom  and  sides. 
44.22+31.9 

=38.00,  the  mean  velocity. 

._) 

And  39.6 X .666X38.6= 1003.77  cubic  feet,  the  volume. 
No.  2.    South  Branca,   {Junction  ('.) 

Width  -  -  -  26.4  ft. 

Mean  depth  -  -  -  -  .  .5 

Velocity  of  the  surface   per  minute  -  120.  7:2 

To  find  the  volume: 

V  126.72— 1=10.257. 

10.257X10.257 =105.2,  the  velocitv  of  the  bottom  and  sides. 

126.72+105.2       ' 

=115.96,  the  mean  velocitv. 

2 
And  26.4X- 5X115.96=1530.67  cubic  feet,  the  volume. 


*  To  obtain  the  mean  velocity  of  a  current  from  that  of  its  surface.  Mr.  Fulton 
lias  obligingly  furnished  me  with  the  following  rule:  in  which  ./•  represents  the 
velocity  of  the  surface,  and  z  that  of  the  bottom  and  sides. 

■r  X  z 

V-v — l  =  Vc     And =the  mean  velocity. 

2 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  53 

No.  3.  North  Branch,  {half  a  mile  above  No.  1.) 

Width                                                    -            -  40.26  ft. 

Mean  depth    -----  .  697 

Velocity  of  the  surface  per  minute             -  40.  92 
To  find  the  mean  velocity: 

V 40.92 — 1=5.4  very  near. 
5.4X5.4=29.16,  the  velocity  of  the  bottom  and  sides. 
40.92+29.16 

=35.04,  the  mean  velocity. 

2 

And  40.26X.697X35.04=983.26  cubic  feet,  the  volume. 

No.  4.  South  Branch,  {half  a  mile  above  No.  2.) 

Width  -----  18. 56  ft. 

Mean  depth    -  1. 14 

Velocity  of  the  surface  per  minute  64.  68 
To  find  the  mean  velocity: 

V  64.68— 1=7.042. 
7.042X7.042=49.58,  the  velocity  at  the  bottom  and  sides. 

64.68+49.58 

=57.13,  the  mean  velocity. 

2 

And  18.56X1.14X57.13=1208.67  cubic  feet,  the  volume. 

No.  5.  North  Branch,  {Junction  of  X.  and  W.  Branches.) 

Width  -  18.48  ft. 

Mean  depth    -  -  1. 08 

Velocity  of  the  surface  per  minute  -  11.  22 

To  find  the  mean  velocity: 

VI  1.22— 1=2.35,  nearly. 
2.35X2.35  =  5.52,  the  velocity  at  the  bottom. 
11. 22+5.52 
=8.37,  the  mean  velocity. 

And  18.48X1-03X8.37=159.3  cubic  feet  the  volume. 

No.  6.  West  branch,  (.Inert Ion  of  the  N.  and  W.  Branches.) 

•Width  -  11.22  ft, 

Mean  depth    -  -  -  -  -  -32 

Velocity  of  the  surface  per  minute  -  74.  58 

To  find  the  mean  velocity : 

V  74.58—1 =7.636. 
7.636X7.636=58.3.  velocity  at  the  bottom  and  sides. 
74.58+58.3=66.64,  the  mean  velocity. 


54  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

And  11.22X.32X66.44=238.54  cubic  feet  the  volume. 
Eesult  of  No.  1,  N.  B.       - 
Eesult  of  No.  3,  N.  B.       - 

Sum 

Mean 
Result  of  No.  2,  S.  B.       - 
Result  of  No.  4,  S.  B.       - 

Sum 

Mean 
As  1369    :  993    : :  4 
Or,  S.  B.    :  N.  B.    :: 
Result  of  No.  5,  N.  B.       - 
Result  of  No.  6,  W.  B.      - 
As  238.5    :  159.3   :: 
Or,  W.  B.    :  N.  B.    : 
Respectfully  submitted. 


- 

- 

- 

1003.  78 

- 

- 

- 

983. 26 

- 

1987.  04 

_ 

993.  52 

- 

- 

- 

1530.  67 

' 

- 

- 

1208.  77 

- 

2739.  44 

_ 

1369.  72 

:  2.9; 

4  :  2.9. 

or, 

as 

40  to  21 

>. 

- 

- 

- 

159.3 

- 

- 

- 

238.  54 

3  :  2; 

:  3  :  2. 

October  1,  1821 


JOHN  McBRIDE.  Suroeyor. 


An  act  to- pj;rcji/  the  surveying  or  granting  of  certain  lands  either 
under  head  rights,  or  in  any  other  'way,  and  for  other  purposes. 

Whereas  the  dividing  line  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  Florida 
has  not  yet  been  run  and  marked,  but,  when  run,  must  be  from  the 
head  or  source  of  St.  Mary's  river  straight  to  the  confluence  of  Flint 
and  Chattahoochie  rivers;  and  whereas  it  is  believed  that  the  said 
line  must,  and  of  right  ought  to,  commence  from  the  head  or  source 
of  the  south  branch  of  St.  Mary's  river,  in  which  event  a  large  por- 
tion of  territory  will  be  included  within  the  limits  of  Camden  county, 
and  subject  to  be  surveyed  and  granted  as  vacant  lands: 

Sec.  1.  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  /Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  State  of  Georgia  in  General  Assembly  met,  and  it 
is  hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  it  shall  not  be 
lawful  for  any  portion  of  the  territory  lying  between  a  direct  line 
from  Ellicott's  Mound  upon  the  north  branch  of  St.  Mary's  river  to 
the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers,  and  the  dividing 
line  which  may  hereafter  be  run  and  marked  between  the  State  of 
Georgia  and  Florida,  to  be  surveyed  and  granted  as  vacant  land,  or 
in  any  other  way,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  until  provision  therefor 
shall  be  made  by  law.  And  that  all  surveys  which  shall  be  so  made 
shall  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby,  declared  null  and  void. 

Sec.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That, 
when  the  said  line  shall  be  rim  and  marked,  if  any  portion  of  the  ter- 
ritory shall  be  included  within  the  State  of  Georgia,  which  may  be 
claimed  and  held  under  and  by  virtue  of  a  grant  or  grants  from  the 
United  States,  upon  purchases  made  previous  to  the  passage  of  this 
act,  then,  and  in  that  case,  the  said  grant  or  grants  shall  be,  and  they 
are  hereby,  declared  good  and  valid  to  all  intents  and  purposes: 
Provided,  The  United  States  shall,  and  do,  within  two  years  from 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  55 

the  time  of  running  and  marking  said  line,  pay  to  the  State  of  Georgia 
the  amount  for  which  the  territory  so  held" and  granted  may  have 
been  sold  by  the  United  States. 

IEBY  HUDSON, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
THOMAS  STOCKS. 
President  of  the  Senate. 
Assented  to,  December  24,  1827. 

John  Forsyth,  Governor. 


The  Governor  of  Georgia  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Executive  "Department,  Georgia, 

3Iilledgeville,  December  29,  1827. 

Sir:  I  have  been  requested  by  the  General  Assembly  to  open  a 
correspondence  with  you,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  adjustment  of 
the  boundary  line  between  this  State  and  the  Territory  of  Florida. 
It  is  well  understood  here,  that  until  the  act  of  Congress,  passed  the 
4th  of  May,  1826,  authorizing  the  President  to  run  and  mark  a  line 
dividing  Florida  from  Georgia,  is  altered  or  repealed,  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  Union  has  not  power  to  comply  with  the  just 
expectations  of  the  State  in  relation  to  its  southern  boundary.  This 
communication  is  made,  therefore,  under  the  expectation  that  it  will 
be  laid  before  Congress,  with  such  recommendations  as  the  respective 
rights  of  the  State  and  of  the  United  States  may,  in  your  judgment, 
require.  The  subject  is  of  deep  interest  to  this  State,  not  from  the 
value  of  the  land,  the  title  to  which  is  dependent  upon  the  decision  of 
it,  but  because  the  description  of  the  boundary  is  a  part  of  our  Con- 
stitution. To  the  Union  it  is  of  little  moment,  except  as  it  affords  a 
fair  occasion  to  consult  frankly  the  wishes  of  one  of  its  members,  and 
to  establish  a  character  for  liberality  to  the  individual  State,  of  far 
greater  importance  than  the  acquisition  of  a  few  hundred  thousand 
acres  if  arid  territory. 

It  is  one,  too,  on  which  even  a  concession  to  the  State,  if  the  right 
were  doubtful,  is  recommended  by  the  consideration  that  the  land 
which  would  be  given  up  will  remain,  although  in  a  different  form, 
a  portion  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  resources  of  the  Union. 

Addressing  myself  to  the  Government  of  the  Union,  to  whom  the 
Territroy  of  Florida  now  belongs,  no  doubt  is  entertained  that  a  dem- 
onstration of  the  right  of  the  State  will  be  followed  by  a  prompt 
acknowledgment,  and  such  legislative  provisions  as  may  be  neces- 
sary to  secure  the  full  enjoyment  of  it.  The  southern  limits  of  Geor- 
gia depend,  1st.  Upon  the  charter  to  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  Caro- 
lina, of  1663;  2dly.  Upon  the  proclamation  of  the  King  of  Great 
Britain  of  1763,  establishing  the  boundary  between  Georgia  and  the 
two  Floridas;  and  the  King's  commission  to  Sir  James  Wright,  of 
1764;  3dlv.  Upon  the  treaties  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  of  the  30th  of  November,  1782,  and  the  3d  of  September, 
1783. 

Confining  myself  to  the  southern  boundary  of  the  State  according 
to  the  territorial  limits  fixed  in  the  compact  with  the  United  States, 


56  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

of  1802,  it  is  a  line  begining  at  the  most  southern  branch  of  the  St. 
Mary's  river;  thence,  up  the  said  river,  to  its  source;  thence,  in  a 
direct  line,  to  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers. 
Subsequent  to  the  treaty  of  1782,  Spain  having  obtained  from  Britain 
a  cession  of  the  Floridas  without  any  description  of  limits,  was  dis- 
posed to  make  territorial  pretensions  inconsistent  with  our  rights. 
The  treaty  of  1795,  concluded  at  San  Lorenzo  by  Mr.  Pinckney  and 
the  Duke  of  Alcudia,  put  an  end  to  these  pretensions.  The  2d  article 
of  the  treaty,  conformably  to  the  instructions  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  then 
Secretary  of  State,  under  General  Washington's  administration,  de- 
scribes the  line  between  Florida  and  the  United  States  (acting  for 
Georgia)  in  the  words  used  in  the  treaty  of  peace  of  1782  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  For  the  purpose  of  preventing 
disputes,  and  to  produce  an  immediate  good  effect  on  the  Indians  on 
the  borders  of  Georgia  and  Florida,  Mr.  Pinckney  introduced,  with- 
out instructions,  into  the  treaty,  an  article,  the  3d,  providing  for  the 
immediate  demarcation  of  the  boundary  line  described  in  the  2d 
article. 

This  article  required  the  appointment  of  a  Commissioner  and  Sur- 
veyor by  each  Government,  who  were  to  meet  at  Natchez,  within  six 
months  from  the  date  of  the  ratification  of  the  convention,  and  to  run 
and  mark  the  line  according  to  the  preceding  article;  they  were  to 
make  plats,  and  to  keep  journals  of  their  proceedings,  which  were 
to  be  considered  a  part  of  the  convention,  and  to  have  the  same  force 
as  if  inserted  therein.  A  Commissioner  and  Surveyor  were  appointed 
by  •the  United  States  to  execute  these  stipulations.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  detail  all  the  circumstances  which  occurred  from  the  meeting 
of  the  American  Commissioner  with  the  Spanish  officer,  who  was 
said  to  be  the  Commissioner  of  Spain,  to  the  period  when  the  work 
was  finally  interrupted  and  left  unfinished;  which,  by  some  fatality, 
happened  precisely  at  the  point  where  the  present  southern  boundary 
of  Georgia  begins  on  the  Chattahoochie.  It  is  sufficient  for  the  pres- 
ent purpose  to  recall  to  your  recollection  these  facts,  resting  upon  the 
assertion  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  United  States — that  every  arti- 
fice was  used  by  the  Spanish  Governor  of  Louisiana,  who  is  stated  to 
have  been  the  Commissioner  of  the  King  of  Spain,  to  prevent  the 
commencement  of  the  demarcation;  that  every  obstacle  he  could 
secretly  interpose  was  presented,  to  delay  the  execution  of  the  work: 
that,  by  the  dishonorable  intrigues  of  the  Spanish  authorities  with 
the  Indians  residing  in  the  vicinity  of  the  line  to  be  marked,  and  their 
disregard  of  the  provisions  contained  in  the  3d  article  of  the  treaty, 
they  at  last  succeeded  in  compelling  the  American  Commissioner  to 
abandon  the  work,  and  leave  it,  as  it  has  continued  to  this  day.  incom- 
plete. The  State  now  asks  from  Congress  the  fulfillment  of  the  stip- 
ulations made  for  her  in  1795,  with  Spain,  the  completion  of  the 
work,  not  completed  because  Spain  was  unfaithful  to  her  engage- 
ments. 

The  current  of  events,  favorable  to  the  repose  and  to  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  Union,  have  placed  it  in  the  power  of  Congress  to  do  imme- 
diate justice.  It  is  not  now  necessary  for  you,  sir,  to  prosecute  a 
painful  and  tedious  negotiation  with  a  Government  most  unwilling 
to  understand  the  just  claims  of  others,  and  procrastinating,  through 
policy,  the  acknowledgment   of  them   when  they  can   no  longer  be 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  57 

denied.  The  United  States  stand  in  the  place  of  Spain,  hold  the  title 
of  that  Government,  and  no  other,  to  the  Territory  of  Florida;  and 
they  have  only  to  satisfy  themselves  what  Spain  could  justly  claim, 
in  a  controversy  with  this  State,  under  the  convention  of  San  Loren- 
zo. That  convention,  requiring  a  direct  line  to  be  drawn  between 
two  unchanged  geographical  points,  does  not  seem  susceptible  of  con- 
troversy: and  were  the  subject  now,  for  the  first  time,  agitated,  none 
could  be  anticipated.  But  a  difficulty  is  known  to  exist,  and  is  to  be 
found  in  a  peculiar  provision  of  the  before  mentioned  act  of  Con- 
gress of  the  4th  of  May,  1826. 

The  motive  for  introducing  that  provision  is  perfectly  understood, 
and  duly  respected :  it  was  intended  to  prevent,  what  it  has  produced, 
delay  and  discussion.  The  provision  is,  that  the  line  to  be  so  run 
(dividing  Florida  from  Georgia)  and  marked,  shall  be  run  straight 
from  the  junction  of  said  rivers  Chattahoochie  and  Flint,  to  the  point 
designated  as  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river,  by  the  Commissioners 
<(/>/><>'n>t<'(]  mulct-  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of  friendship,  naviga- 
tion, &c.  &c.  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  made  at  San 
Lorenzo.  &c.  &c.  This  provision  was  founded  on  the  belief  that  the 
point  designated  as  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  was  the  source  of  that 
river.  This  belief  entertained  here  as  well  as  at  Washington,  recent 
and  accurate  examination  has  shewn  to  be  unfounded.  The  evidence 
relied  on  by  the  State,  on  this  point,  is  already  in  your  hands;  the 
dinrt  of  the  St.  Mary's,  prepared  by  Mr.  McBride,  and  his  report  of 
the  examination  made  by  him  for  the  source  or  head  of  that  river. 
The  supposition  on  which  the  proviso  in  the  act  of  Congress  was 
founded  being  shewn  to  be  erroneous,  no  disposition  can  exist  to  per- 
sist in  retaining  it,  to  the  injury  of  the  State,  unless  the  right  of  Con- 
gress to  insert  it  is  clearly  shewn,  and  it  is  required  by  their  obliga- 
tions to  the  other  States.'  If  Spain  were  now  the  party  interested, 
it  is  scarcely  possible  that,  in  utter  disregard  of  the  obligations  of 
truth  and  justice,  she  should  insist  that  the  line  should  be  run  and 
marked  to  the  point  designated  as  tin-  haul  of  the  St.  Mary's,  by  the 
Commissioner  appointed  under  the  third  article  of  the  convention 
of  1795:  on  the  hypothesis  that  Spain  was  still  the  owner  of  the 
Floridas,  and  so  forgetful  of  honor  as  to  make  such  a  demand,  by 
what  argument  could  it  be  sustained?  It  would  be  asserted,  that 
the  acts  of  the  Commissioners  appointed  under  the  third  article,  had 
become  part  of  the  convention,  and  was  as  obligatory  as  if  inserted 
in  it.  This  assertion  is  true  only  of  those  acts  of  the  Commissioners 
which  they  were  authorized  by 'the  third  article  to  perform.  They 
were  authorized  to  run  and  mark  a  line:  has  it  been  done?  It  has 
not :  more  than  150  miles  of  the  line  is  yet  to  be  run  and  marked.  To 
meet  this  state  of  facts,  it  might  be  asserted  that,  it  being  found  im- 
practicable to  run  and  mark  the  line  at  that  time,  the  Commissioners 
agreed  upon  the  two  terminating  points,  and  described,  in  their  plats 
and  journals,  the  direction  of  the  line  to  be  hereafter  run  and  marked: 
and  that  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  was  thus  agreed  to  be  within  a  certain 
distance  of  a  mound  raised.  '  Were  the  Commissioners  appointed  for 
this  purpose?  Certainly  not:  they  were  appointed  to  run  and  mark 
a  line,  not  to  establish  the  points  between  which  the  line  should,  at 
some  distant  time,  be  run  and  marked.  By  what  authority  did  the 
Commissioners  exercise  this  power?     It  is  not  given  by  the  third 


58  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

article  of  the  treaty:  no  agreement  made  by  them  is  binding  upon 
either  of  the  powers  who  appointed  them,  unless  subsequently  rati- 
fied by  both.  Such  an  agreement  as  the  one  made  was  not  within  the 
spirit  of  the  article,  but  Is  directly  contrary  to  it.  since  it  substitutes 
an  artificial  object  as  the  point  of  termination  for  the  natural  one 
fixed  on  in  the  convention,  and  confessedly  changes  the  line.  The 
extent  of  the  agreement  is  stated  by  the  American  Commissioner, 
Ellicott,  in  these  words:  "It  was  therefore  agreed  that  the  termina- 
"  tion  of  a  line,  supposed  to  be  drawn  N.  45  E.  640  perches  from  the 
"  mound  B.  should  be  taken  as  a  point  to  or  near  which  a  line  should 
"  be  drawn  from  the  mouth  of  Flint  river,  which  line,  when  drawn, 
"  should  be  final,  and  considered  as  the  permanent  boundary  between 
"the  United  States  and  his  Catholic  Majesty:  provided,  it  passed 
"  not  less  than  one  mile  north  of  mound  B:  but,  if,  on  experiment,  it 
"  should  be  found  to  pass  within  less  than  one  mile  north  of  the  said 
"  mound,  it  should  be  corrected  to  carry  it  to  that  distance.''  No 
remarks  on  the  peculiar  character  of  the  line  described  are  deemed 
necessary;  the  passage  is  quoted  to  show  that  Ellicott  transcended 
his  authority,  and  olid  what  was  not  binding  on  his  Government, 
unless  subsequently  ratified  by  it.  It  is  presumed  he  had  no  instruc- 
tions to  make  such  an  agreement;  if  he  had,  this  State  denies  that 
the  convention  of  1795  authorized  them  to  be  given. 

Was  this  agreement  ratified  by  the  two  powers  prior  to  the  cession 
of  Florida  by  Spain  to  the  United  States?  It  is  taken  for  granted 
that  it  was  not.  If  not,  the  question  remains  as  it  did  under  the  con- 
vention of  1795.  The  stipulations  of  the  third  article  are  yet  to  be 
performed,  and  the  point  to  which  the  line  from  the  junction  of  the 
Flint  and  Chattahoochie  is  to  be  run  is  to  be  determined  by  referring 
to  the  second  article  of  the  convention,  not  by  an  appeal  to  the  agree- 
ment of  Ellicott.  It  is  a  geographical  point,  unvarying  and  un- 
varied ;  not  the  creation  of  man's  labor.  It  is  a  spot  described  by  the 
two  Governments;  not  that  substituted  by  their  subordinate,  unau- 
thorized, agents.  The  agreement  of  Ellicott  was  not  obligatory, 
even  upon  himself.  Prior  to  the  running  and  marking  the  line,  had 
any  error,  geographical  or  astronomical,  been  made  by  accident,  it 
was  in  the  power,  and  it  was  the  duty,  of  the  Commissioner  to  correct 
it,  as  soon  as  it  was  discovered.  Can  it  be  pretended  that,  if  Ellicott 
had  discovered,  immediately  after  the  supposed  source  of  the  St. 
Mary's  was  agreed  upon,  that  the  spring  or  lake,  from  whence  issued 
the  southern  branch,  was  the  true  source  of  the  river,  he-  was  bound 
to  abide  by  the  judgment  he  had  formed  on  imperfect  information, 
and  to  run  and  mark  the  line  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  con- 
vention, to  the  injury  of  his  country?  If  the  line  had  been  com- 
pleted by  Ellicott.  under  the  mistaken  impression  entertained  by 
him  of  the  true  source  of  the  river,  and  the  mistake  had  been  clearly 
ascertained,  it  would  have  given  the  General  Government  great  sat- 
isfaction to  have  been  able  to  rectify,  by  a  negotiation  with  Spain, 
the  error  committed.  Called  upon  by  Georgia,  would  the  General 
Government  have  hesitated  to  represent  to  Spain  that  a  just  Govern- 
ment would  best  consult  its  honor  and  its  interest,  by  rectifying,  with 
frankness,  an  error  committed  by  its  inferior  officers?  Can  it  be 
doubted  that  the  United  States  would  have  seized,  with  avidity,  the 
first  occasion  to  oblige  Spain  to  surrender  to  Georgia  territory  held 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  59 

in  consequence  of  such  an  error  ?  If  such  would  probably  have  been 
the  course  of  the  General  Government,  had  the  error  been  consum- 
mated by  the  running  and  marking  of  the  line.  I  leave  you  to  con- 
sider what  would  have  been  their  conduct,  had  Spain,  remaining 
owner  of  the  territory,  obstinately  persisted  in  claiming  to  have  it 
run  and  marked  according  to  Ellicott  *s  agreement,  after  the  mistake 
committed  by  him  had  been  discovered  and  exposed.  The  United 
States,  tracing  the  failure  to  complete  the  work  to  it?  source,  might 
have  overwhelmed  Spain  by  justly  deserved  reproaches  for  disgrace- 
fully attempting  to  take  advantage  of  its  own  infidelity  to  sacred 
engagements,  by  indignant  recitals  of  the  intrigues  and  artifices  used. 
the  treachery  displayed,  from  the  meeting  of  the  Commissioners  at 
Natchez  until  Ellicott  was  driven  from  the  Chattahoochie.  I  shall 
be  pardoned  for  supposing  the  Government  of  Spain  would  have  ex- 
posed itself  to  rebuke,  by  advancing  such  claims.  The  possibility  has 
been  admitted,  to  bring  fairly  into  view  the  peculiar  position  of  the 
United  States  in  relation  to  this  question.  The  trustees  of  Georgia, 
who  arranged  the  convention  of  San  Lorenzo,  are  the  holders,  by  pur- 
chase, of  the  title  of  Spain  under  that  convention.  In  this  their 
present  position,  their  former  relation  being  necessarily  remembered, 
no  pretension  can  be  consistently  made  by  the  United  States,  which 
would  have  been  disputed  if  made  by  Spain,  while  the  Floridas  be- 
longed to  that  power.  No  claim  of  Georgia,  which  the  United  States 
would  then  have  seriously  pressed  upon  Spain,  can  be  honorably  re- 
sisted by  the  United  States  holding  the  property  as  a  cession  from 
that  power.  Above  all,  it  would  be  the  extremity  of  disgrace,  if  the 
Federal  Government  should  seek  to  take  advantage  of  an  error  com- 
mitted by  its  authority,  while  acting  as  the  guardian  of  the  rights  of 
this  State,  when  Providence  has  placed  it  in  its  power  to  correct  the 
error  by  a  simple  exertion  of  its  own  will. 

The  accompanying  copy  of  an  Executive  message  to  the  General 
Assembly  of  this  State,  and  of  an  act  passed  by  that  body,  are  for- 
warded, that  they  may  be  presented,  with  the  documents  heretofore 
transmitted,  to  the  consideration  of  Congress,  whenever  you  shall 
deem  it  proper  to  bring  the  subject  of  the  boundary  line  between 
Florida  and  Georgia  before  them. 

I  am.  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obed't  servant. 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 

John  Q.  Adams,  President  of  the  United  States. 


from  the  President  of  the  United.  States,  transmitting,  in 
compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  eleventh  instant, 
a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  with  copies  of  instructions, 
dec.  to  Andrew  Ellicott,  Commissioner  for  running  the  line  between 
the  United  States  and  Spain. 

To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 

"Washington,  February  14,  1828. 
In  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  11th  instant, 
requesting  copies  of  the  instructions  to  Andrew  Ellicott,  Commis- 
43064— S.  Doc.  467,  60-1 7 


60  ,  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

sioner  for  running-  the  line  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  and 
of  any  journal  or  report  of  the  Commissioners,  I  communicate  here- 
with a  report  from  the-  Secretary  of  State,  with  the  documents  re- 
quested, so  far  as. they  are  found  in  the  files  of  that  department. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 


x  Department  or  State. 

Washington,  February  13,  i828. 

The  Secretary  of  State,  to  whom  has  been  referred,  by  the  Presi- 
dent, the  resolution  of  the  11th  instant,  requesting  him  "  to  com- 
municate to  the  Senate  copies  of  the  instructions  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  to  Andrew  Ellicott,  Esq.  Commissioner  on  the 
part  of  this  Government  for  running  the  line  between  the  United 
States  and  Spain,  under  the  treaty  of  San  Lorenzo  el  Real,  aiid  of 
any  journal  or  report  made  by  the  said  Andrew  Ellicott  and  the 
Commissioner  of  Spain,  of  the  execution  of  the  said  commission,  or 
such  parts  thereof  as  may  be  communicated  without  injury  to  the 
public  service/*  has  the  honor  to  report,  herewith,  the  instructions 
requested,  contained  in  a  letter  from  Timothy  Pickering,  Secretary 
of  State,  under  date  the  14th  day  of  September.  1796,  addressed  to 
Andrew  Ellicott.  Commissioner,  and  Thomas  Freeman.  Surveyor, 
to  run  and  mark  the  line  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  in 
conformity  with  the  treaty  of  San  Lorenzo  el  Real. 

A  search  had  been  several  times  heretofore  made,  without  success, 
for  the  report  of  which  a  copy  is  requested.  When  it  was  known 
that  the  Senate  would  call  for  the  report,  a  careful  and  ^thorough 
research  was  made  for  it,  but  it  has  been  alike  unsuccessful.  The 
joint  or  separate  report  of  the  Commissioners,  if  it  were  ever  made, 
is  not  now  to  be  found  on  the  files  of  the  Department  of  State.  It 
appears  from  a  printed  journal  of  Mr.  Ellicott,  published  in  1803, 
giving  an  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Commissioners  in  run- 
ning the  line,  (page  278,)  that  the  astronomical  part  of  the  boundary 
being  completed,  it  only  remained  to  make  out  the  report,  with  the 
maps  or  charts  of  the  line.  As  a  proper  place  for  performing  that 
business,  the  Commissioners  agree  to  repair  to  the  south  end  of  Cum- 
berland island,  where  they  could  be  more  retired,  and  would  be  less 
interrupted  by  company.  From  a  letter  addressed  by  Mr.  Ellicott 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  at  Cumberland  island,  on  the  22d 
March,  1800,  (of  which  a  copy  is  also  herewith  transmitted,)  it  ap- 
pears that  they  accordingly  did  retire  to  that  island,  for  the  purpose 
of  completing  that  report:  that  they  were  actually  engaged  in  the 
preparation  of  it;  and  that  Mr.  Ellicott  expected  it  would  be  com- 
pleted the  week  after  the  next  succeeding  the  date  of  his  letter. 
Whether,  in  point  of  fact,  it  was  finished,  and  transmitted  to  the 
Department  of  State,  cannot  now  be  here  ascertained. 

A  letter  has  been  recently  addressed  from  this  Department  to  the 
Minister  of  the  United  States  in  Spain,  directing  him  to  procure  a 
copy  of  the  report,  if  it  be  among  the  archives  of  the  Spanish 
Government. 

All  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

-  H.  CLAY. 


[Doc.  Xo.  43.]  61 

Colonel  Pickering,  Secretary  of  State,  to  Mr.  Ellicott. 

Department  of  State, 
Philadelphia,  September  14,  1796. 

Andrew  Ellicott.  Commissioner.      r     . 
Thomas  Freeman.  Surveyor,  Instructions. 

To  Andrew  Ellicott,  Commissioner,  and  Thomas  Freeman,  Surveyor. 
on  the  'part  of  the  United  States,  for  running  an/i  marking  the 
souther)'  boundary  line  which  divides  their  territory  from  the 
Spanish  Colonies  of  East  and  West  Florida: 

You  will  receive  herewith  a  copy  of  the  treaty  of  friendship,  limits, 
and  navigation,  concluded  between  the  United  States  of  America 
and  his  Catholic  Majesty,  as  finally  ratified  on  both  sides,  and  pro- 
claimed by  the  President  of  the  United  States:  together  with  the 
second  and  third  articles  of  the  treaty  transcribed  from  the  original 
in  the  Spanish  language. 

In  contemplating  the  mode  of  carrying  into  execution  these  two 
articles  which  respect  the  southern  boundary,  it  has  been  considered 
that  the  country  through  which  the  line  is  to  be  run  belongs,  for  the 
most  part,  to  the  native  [ndians,  and  is,  of  course,  a  wilderness. 
Hence  many  difficulties  may  attend  an  attempt  to  run  and  mark  one 
continued  boundary  line  from  the  Mississippi'  to  the  St.  Mary*-. 
Nevertheless,  if  the  Indians  will  allow  it  to  be  done,  and  the  nature 
of  the  country  admits  of  it,  you  are  to  run  and  mark  such  a  con- 
tinued boundary  line.  If  the  Indians  are  averse  to  the  measure,  and 
oppose  your  proceeding,  you  must  stop  as. soon  as  you  find  a  further 
advance  would  hazard  your  safety,  or  a  breach  of  our  friendship 
with  any  tribe.  But  the  Creeks  have  expressly  stipulated  a  free 
passage  pf  the  Commissioners,  and  their  followers,  to  run  and  mark 
the  boundary  line  through  their  territory :  and  the  Choctaws  prob- 
ably may,  on  the  application  of  the  Commissioners,  also  give  the  like 
permission  as  it  respects  their  country.  However,  if  either  the  op- 
position of  the  Indians,  or  the  impracticability  of  the  country  itself. 
through  which  you  must  pass,  should  render  the  running  a  continued 
line  impossible,  or  extremely  tedious  and  difficult,  then  the  next  best 
thing  must  be  attempted :  that  is.  accurately  to  fix  the  latitude  of  the 
boundary  line  at  trie  eastern  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and  to  run  and 
mark  the  line  thence  as  far  eastward  as  the  Indian  title  has  been, 
by  any  regular  and  lawful  means,  extinguished,  either  under  the 
^British  or  Spanish  Governments.  If  the  Indians  and  the  nature  o£ 
the  country  permit  you  to  proceed  further,  you  will  go  on  as  far  it 
shall  be  practicable.  And  if.  from  any  cause,  you  are  obliged  to 
leave  any  part  of  the  line  unsurveyed  and  unmarked,  you  will 'at 
least  ascertain  where  it  strikes  the  great  rivers,  from  the  Mississippi 
to  the  Apalachicola. 

From  the  junction  of  the  Flint  river  with  the  Apalachicola,  the 
boundary  line,  ceasing  to  be  a  parallel  of  latitude,  must,  if  possible, 
be  run  and  marked  through  ifs  whole  course,  to  the  head  of  the  river 
St.  Mary's.  v 


62  [Doc.  Xo.  43.] 

So  far  as  the  boundary  line  is  a  parallel  of  latitude,  you  will  as- 
certain the  same  with  all  practicable  accuracy,  and  erect  permanent 
monuments  of  stone,  where  attainable,  and  at  other  places,  of  earth. 
And  in  the  latter  case,  it  may  be  eligible  to  plant  in  the  ground  large 
posts  of  cedar,  or  other  durable  wood,  two  or  three  at  each  monu- 
ment, in  the  range  of  the  line,  and  to  bury  them  up  with  several  feet 
of  earth,  so  that  by  being  concealed  they  may  not  be  removed,  and 
by  an  exclusion  of  the  air.  they  may  not  be  liable  to  rot.  The  mounts 
>  of  earth  may  be  oblong  in  the  range  of  the  boundary  line.  Where 
cedar  or  other  very  durable  wood  is  found,  a  large  post  may  be 
erected  in  the  centre  of  each  mount,  standing  above  ground,  with  the 
words  United  States  cut  on  one  side,  and  Florida,  or  Spanish  Florida. 
on  the  other. 

From  the  Apalachicola  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's,  you  will,  at  con- 
venient distances,  erect  the  like  monuments  of  stone  or  earth. 

In  every  continued  line  through  a  wood  you  will  designate  the 
same  by  marked  trees,  as  usual. 

The  longitudes  of  all  the  places  where  monuments  shall  be  erected 
are  to  be  ascertained  with  all  possible  exactness. 

The  third  article  of  the  treaty  requires  that  the  Commissioners 
make  plats  and  keep  journals  of  their  proceedings  which  are  to  be 
considered  as  part  of  the  treaty,  and  have  the  same  force  as  if  they 
were  inserted  therein:  the  plats  and  journals,  therefore,  should  be 
made  with  accuracy  and  precision,  and  the  latitudes,  longitudes, 
courses  and  distances,  expressed  in  words  at  length  as  well  as  figures. 

It  being  necessary  that  a  careful  person  should  accompany  you,  to 
take  charge  of  the  stores  and  provisions,  and  issue  the  same,  and  to 
receive  and  disburse  the  money  for  wages  and  supplies.  Charles  An- 
derson, of  Philadelphia,  for  his  known  integrity  and  capacity,  is 
designated  to  perform  those  services,  under  your  direction. 

You  will  embrace  every  convenient  opportunity  to  inform  the  De- 
partment of  State  of  your  progress  in  this  business,  which  it  is  ex- 
pected you  will  conduct  with  diligence  and  economy.  These  views 
will  be  promoted  by  your  maintaining  harmony  and  good  under- 
standing with  the  Commissioner  and  agents  on  the  part  of  Spain. 

By  the  certificate  annexed  to  the  copy  of  the  second  and  third  ar- 
ticles of  the  treaty,  you  will  see  that  the  ratifications  of  the  treaty 
were  exchanged  on  the  25th  of  April  last :  and  consequently  that  you 
ought  to  be  at  the  Natchez  before  the  25th  of  October  next,  ensuing, 
agreeably  to  the  stipulation  in  the  third  article. 

TIMOTHY  PICKERING, 

Secretary  of  State. 


Cumberland  Island.  March  22,  1800. 

Sir  :  Your  letter  of  the  30th  of  January  last,  came  to  hand  on  the 
13th  of  this  month,  and  is  the  first  I  have  received  from  you  since  I 
left  New  Orleans. 

I  retired  to  this  place  immediately  after  descending  the  St.  Mary's, 
for  the  purpose  of  completing  our  report,  which  will  probably  be 
finished  the  week  after  next,  with  all  the  plans,  charts,  &c.  The  re- 
port will  be  very  lengthy,  and  contain  a  great  number  of  astronom- 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  63 

ical  observations  and  intricate  calculations,  in  no  part  of  which  have 
I  any  assistance,  except  in  copying.  I  am  extremely  anxious  to  have 
the  report  signed ;  for  my  want  of  faith  is  so  great  in  all  the  officers 
of  his  Catholic  Majesty,  that  I  suppose  nothing  done  till  it  is  fin- 
ished. 

The  Spanish  party  propose  returning  by  Philadelphia  and  Pitts- 
burg. What  their  views  are  I  know  not  Mr.  Power  has  been  so 
long  in  the  habit  of  intrigue  and  duplicity,  that  he  is  only  at  home 
when  in  the  midst  of  confusion.  His  former  residence  in  Philadel- 
phia procuring  him  an  extensive  acquaintance  with  the  partisans  of 
France ;  and  though  he  has  been  appointed  Surveyor  on  behalf  of  his 
Catholic  Majesty,  he  never  attended  to  the  business  but  one  week: 
his  employment  has  been  very  different,  but  fortunately  without 
much  effect.  The  boundary  has  actually  been  executed  by  the  United 
States,  and  would  haA^e  been  done  at  a  much  less  expense,  had  no 
other  power  been  concerned  in  it.  From  a  suspicion,  which  I  think 
was  well-founded.  I  was  at  all  times  able  to  complete  the  work  without 
the  aid  of  the  other  party ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  numbers  and 
firmness  of  my  people,  at  the  mouth  of  Flint  river;  my  journal  (and 
there  is  no  other)  with  all  my  documents,  and  public  and  private 
correspondence,  with  the  whole  apparatus,  would  certainly  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Indians.  The  other  party  had  previ- 
ously divested  themselves  of  every  article  of  value  which  would  im- 
pede their  flight,  and  remained  without  force  or  apparatus,  except 
an  old  surveying  compass,  which  for  some  time  had  a  wooden  sight. 
Infinite  address  has  been  practised  with  my  young  men,  and  the  com- 
manding officer  of  my  escort,  to  make  them  troublesome ;  but  a  re- 
membrance of  the  decided  measures  I  had  taken  on  a  former  occa- 
sion has  kept  them  within  bounds. 

This  expedition  has  taught  me  a  useful  lesson.  I  was  always 
pleased  with  our  Government:  I  now  think  it  perfect.  I  can  now 
see  the  difference  between  a  Government  whose  basis  is  the  people, 
and  one  supported  by  intrigues,  duplicity,  and  parade.  In  the  for- 
mer, man  feels  his  dignity ;  he  is  open,  candid,  and  honest ;  but  in  the 
latter,  he  becomes  a  jealous  assassin.  When  I  look  back  and  see  the 
difficulties  with  which  we  were  surrounded,  and  the  dangers  by  which 
we  were  menaced,  I  feel  conscious  that  our  success  has  been  owing  to 
good  fortune.  The  report  which  was  handed  in  by  Mr.  Gillespie  and 
the  Spanish  Deputy  Surveyor,  that  "  the  St.  Mary's  did  not  head  in 
the  Okefenoke  swamp."  is  incorrect.  I  was  one  who  traced  it  up  to 
the  junction,  and  slept  two  nights  on  the  margin  of  the  swamp.  The 
trip  was  a  disagreeable  one,  and  I  yet  feel  the  effects  of  it. 

The  United  States  extend  further  south  than  we  had  any  idea  of. 
The  most  southern  bend  of  the  St.  Mary's  is  in  latitude  30 z  21/  X. 
nearly,  and  the  source  of  the  river  in  about  30°  34/  N. 

In  all  probability  I  shall  be  in  Philadelphia  about  the  last  of  next 
month. 

I  am,  sir.  with  esteem,  vour  sincere  friend, 

ANDREW  ELLICOTT. 

The  Hon.  the  Secretary  or  State. 

for  the  United  States. 


64  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

Resolution*  and  Documents  relating  to  the  Boundary  Line  between 
the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida. 

Executive  Office,  Tallahassee, 

January  1th.  1828. 
Sir  :  In  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the  Legislative  Council,  I 
herewith  transmit  to  you  the  report  of  "  the  Select  Committee  to 
whom  was  referred  so  much  of  the  message  of  the  Acting  Governor 
as  relates  to  the  contested  question  of  boundary  between  the  State  of 
Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida."  and  ask.  in  the  language  of 
that  resolution,  your  "  immediate  attention  to  the  same.*' 
I  am.  sir.  very  respectfully. 
Your  obedient  servant. 

WM.  M.  McCARTY, 
Acting  Governor  of  Florida. 
Hon.  Jos.  M.  \Yhite,  Washington  City. 

The  Select  Committee,  to  whom  was  referred  so  much  of  the  message 
of  the  Acting  Govt  moras  relates  to  the  contested  question  of  bound-' 
ary  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida,  beg 
leave  to  report: 

That  the  great  importance  and  delicacy  of  the  question  has  induced 
them  to  give  to  it  the  highest  consideration,  and  to  bring  into  bearing 
all  the  points  which,  in  their  estimation,  were  essential  to  a  true  state- 
ment of  the  causes  of  difference  existing  between  the  two  Govern- 
ments. Looking  with  anxious  eyes  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Territory, 
and  to  the  future  stand  she  seemed  destined  to  take  as  a  member  of 
this  great  political  family,  they  have  witnessed,  with  pain,  an  attempt 
to  deprive  her  of  a  most  valuable  portion  of  her  population  and  her 
soil :  and  in  so  doing,  at  once  to  prostrate  the  fairest  hopes  of  her 
most  ardent  admirers,  and  continue  her  in  her  present  territorial  con- 
dition. Forming  the  extreme  southern  link  in  the  chain  of  the  Amer- 
ican States,  and  possessing  all  the  advantages  which  must  neces- 
sarily flow  from  her  commercial  position,  superadded  to  the  richness 
and  fertility  of  her  soil,  the  genial  influence  of  her  climate,  and  the 
hardy  and  adventurous  character  of  her  citizens,  they  looked  with 
aching  hearts,  even  to  the  remotest  probability  of  an  event  so  immi- 
nently calculated  to  undo  all  former  efforts  in  her  cause,  and  place 
her  in  a  situation  to  remove  all  inducements  to  future  exertions. 
Rapidly  assuming  a  station  which  has  scarcely  been  the  fortunate 
lot  of  any  one  of  the  Territories  of  the  Union,  while  yet  in  her  in- 
fancy, she  bid  fair  to  ripen  into  maturity,  adorned  with  every  feature 
calculated  to  render  her  an  ornament  to  the  Union,  and  one  of  the 
most  valuable  members  of  the  body  politic.  Though  these  reflections 
weighed  upon  the  minds  of  your  committee,  and  had  their  operating 
influence,  yet  the  true  state  of  the  question  has  not  been  abandoned 
from  such  considerations.  On  the  contrary,  they  were  the  more  im- 
pelled to  exertion,  in  order  to  show  the  invalidity  of  the  claim  ad- 
vanced by  the  State  of  Georgia.  In  this  they  believe  they  shall  suc- 
ceed; and,  that  the  matter  may  be  fully  understood,  they  present,  in 
a  form  as  distinct  and  lucid  as  their  circumstances  admit,  every  thing 
having  a  direct  relation  thereto. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  65 

The  first  intimation  of  the  claim  of  the  State  of  Georgia  to  a  por- 
tion of  the  lands  heretofore  acknowledged  as  the  soil  of  the  United 
States,  and  sold  as  such  to  private  individuals,  is  found  in  the  mes- 
sage of  his  Excellency  George  M.  Troup,  late  Governor  of  that  State, 
to  the  Legislature,  just  before  his  retirement  from  office.  This,  to  us, 
inost  extraordinary  claim,  is,  according  to  the  language  of  his  Excel- 
lency, founded  upon  "  the  charter  of  Georgia,  the  treaty  of  peace  of 
1783,  the  confederation  of  1778,  the  present  constitution,  the  treaty 
with  Spain  of  1795,  and  the  constitution  of  the  State  of  Georgia." 
While  the  members  of  your  committee  would  not  allow  themselves 
to  treat  with  disrespect  arguments  emanating  from  so  respectable  a 
source,  yet,  so  far  as  the  authorities  cited  are  intended  to  bear  upon 
the  question  now  under  consideration,  they  must  be  permitted  to 
express  an  opinion,  that  a  solitary  glance  at  them  will  be  sufficient  to 
show  that  they  afford  not  a  shadow  of  evidence  to  support  the  claim — ■ 
a  claim  urged  by  Georgia,  at  this  late  period,  to  more  than  two  thou- 
sand square  miles  of  the  lands  sold  as  those  of  the  United  States. 

Though  your  committee  cannot  recognize,  as  authority,  any  instru- 
ment which  was  created  specially  for  the  benefit  of  one  party,  with- 
out the  concurrence  and  sanction  of  others  interested  in  the  soil,  and 
having  rights  equally  to  be  regarded  in  the  establishment  of  the  true 
boundary  line,  still  in  order  to  investigate  the  whole  matter  in  dis- 
pute, they  will  proceed  to  notice  the  points  presented  by  his  Excel- 
lency the  Governor  of  Georgia. 

The  charter  of  Georgia,  referred  to  by  his  Excellency,  is  of  date 
1732,  and  was  [granted]  by  a  proclamation  from  George  the  2d  of 
England.  By  that  instrument,  the  southern  boundary  of  Georgia 
only  extended  so  far  as  "  the  southern  stream  of  a  certain  other  great 
water,  or  river,  called  the  Alatamaha."  This  authority,  in  itself, 
is  therefore  entirely  irrelevant,  and  has  no  bearing  upon  the  point. 
But,  by  a  proclamation  of  George  the  3d  of  England,  of  date  1762, 
there  was  annexed  to  Georgia  "  all  the  lands  lying  between  the  rivers 
Alatamaha  and  St.  Mary's."  Accepting  this  last  proclamation,  or 
charter,  as  authority,  your  committee  might  inquire  if,  by  it,  Georgia 
can  claim  any  line  farther  south  than  the  St.  Mary's  river?  If  the 
proclamation  had  even  stated  the  head  of  that  river,  it  could  not,  for 
a  moment,  be  contended  that  she  could  have  extended  her  southern 
line  from  the  head  to  one  of  its  lateral  branches,  which  might,  in  its 
devious  course,  and  in  conjunction  with  other  streams,  have  gone 
much  farther  south  than  the  actual  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river, 
when,  in  truth,  that  river  is  made  the  most  southern  boundary  of 
Georgia. 

The  treaty  of  peace  of  1783  is  also  considered  by  Governor  Troup 
as  giving  to  Georgia  the  right  of  her  present  claim.  This  definite 
treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  in  describing 
the  boundaries  of  the  American  territories,  describes  the  most  south- 
ern as  a  line  from  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers, 
straight  "  to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river."  The  question  here 
turns  upon,  what  is  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river  ?  and,  in  the  solution, 
we  can  only  be  governed  by  common  usage.  The  St.  Mary's  river  has 
heretofore  been  represented  as  beginning  at  or  near  a  certain  point 
designated  by  an  artificial  land  mark,  called  Elliott's  Mound.  Re- 
cently, however,  another  branch  or. stream  has  been  found  emptying 
into  it  from  a  much  more  southern  direction,  and  the  late  Governor 


63  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

of  Georgia  now  claims  that  branch  as  its  head,  having  discovered 
that  it  enlarge-  the  territory  of  that  State  beyond  what  has  hereto- 
fore been  considered  as  her  actual  limits.  To  show  that  this  claim 
ought  not  to  be  regarded  at  this  late  day,  notwithstanding  the  ap- 
parent plausibility  with  which  it  is  urged,  let  us  for  a  moment  sup- 
pose a  case,  which,  though  not  known  to  exist,  yet  may,  and  possibly 
does,  exist.  In  low  and  flat  lands,  such  as  are  known  to  surround 
the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  ponds  and  lakes  are  frequently 
found  connected  with  each  other  by  streams  which  are  large  or  small, 
as  the  ponds  which  give  rise  to  them  are  swollen  or  depressed  by  rains 
or  droughts.  Suppose  this  southern  branch  to  be  formed  by  a  com- 
bination of  these  streams,  as  it  most  probably  is.  and  to  be  extended 
by  a  chain  of  lakes  and  ponds  across  the  peninsula  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  would  the  State  of  Georgia  contend  that  the  line  should  be 
run  from  thence?  and.  if  she  did.  would  that  claim  be  recognized? 
Surety  not :  for  the  obvious  reason,  that  a  branch  so  formed  could 
not  be  considered  as  the  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river.  When  we 
speak  of  the  head  of  a  river,  we  technically  mean  its  source,  and  not 
one  of  its  branches,  no  matter  how  long.  The  branch  of  a  river  is, 
properly  speaking,  a  descendant  of  the  main  river,  not  the  source: 
it  is  the  offspring  that  inherits  from  the  source.  If  the  construction 
contended  for  by  Governor  Troup  be  correct,  we  should  no  longer 
look  upon  the  Missouri  as  a  branch  of  the  Mississippi,  but  should 
henceforth  consider  it  as  the  Mississippi  itself. 

"  The  confederation  of  1778,"  cited  in  the  message  of  the  Governor 
of  Georgia,  makes  not  the  slightest  allusion  to  the  limits  of  that 
State,  nor  does  "  the  present  constitution,"  by  which  is  meant  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  allude  to  it.  The  reasons  which  in- 
duced his  Excellency  to  refer  to  these  two  instruments  are  not  dis- 
covered by  your  committee,  unless  he  intended  to  deduce  therefrom 
an  argument  that  the  rights  of  Georgia  were  secured  to  her  at  the 
time  she  became  a  member  of  the  common  family :  if  this  be  the 
argument,  your  committee  are  by  no  means  disposed  to  deny  its 
correctness:  but.  while  they  readily  concede  that  the  rights  of  Geor- 
gia should  be  protected,  they  must  contend  that  the  rights  of  others 
should  be  regarded  as  equally  sacred. 

After  an  examination  into  all  the  authorities  referred  to  by  his 
Excellency  of  Georgia,  your  committee  have  been  able  to  find  noth- 
ing in  any  of  them  which  comes  directly  to  the  point  in  question, 
except  in  the  second  and  third  articles  of  "  the  treaty  with  Spain 
of  1795.'"  This  was  "  a  treaty  of  friendship,  limits,  and  navigation." 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Spanish  Government :  and  the 
boundary  line  between  Florida,  then  a  part  of  the  territory  of  Spain, 
and  the  State  of  Georgia,  one  of  the  United  States,  is  'therein  de- 
scribed as  a  line  drawn  from  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chatta- 
hoochie  "  straight  to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,"  employing 
the  same  language  that  was  used  in  the  treaty  of  peace  of  1783. 

To  prevent  any  future  misunderstanding  as  to  the  true  head  of 
the  St.  Mary's,  and  to  ascertain  it.  and  definitively  settle  the  line  of 
demarcation,  it  is  provided  in  the  third  article  of  that  treaty,  that, 
"  in  order  to  carry  the  preceding  article  into  effect,  one  Commissioner 
and  one  Surveyor  shall  be  appointed  by  each  of  the  contracting 
parties,  who  shall  meet  at  Xatche^.  on  the  left  side  of  the  river  Mis- 
sissippi, before  the  expiration  of  six  months  from  the  ratification 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  67 

of  this  convention ;  and  they  shall  proceed  to  run  and  mark  this 
boundary,  according  to  the  stipulations  of  the  said  article.  They 
shall  make  plats  and  keep  journals  of  their  proceedings,  which  shall 
be  considered  as  part  of  this  convention,  and  shall  have  the  same 
force  as  if  they  were  inserted  therein."  The  Comissioners  were 
appointed,  in  pursuance  of  this  treaty,  to  run  the  line;  and  the  one 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States  published  his  journal  at  large,  in 
the  year  1803.  This  journal,  therefore,  has  the  same  effect  as  if  it 
were  part  of  the  convention,  and  ,;  inserted  therein ;"  and,  by  it,  the 
head  or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river  is  ascertained  to  be  near  the 
point  called  Ellicott's  Mound.  *  Here,  then,  was  a  compact,  solemnly 
made  and  entered  into,  and  as  solemnly  ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  in  which  body  Georgia  was  represented,  and  of  which 
her  Senators  composed  a  part.  Will  it,  then,  be  believed  that  Georgia 
can,  in  law,  (viewing  her  as  one  of  the  parties  to  this  compact,)  suc- 
cessfully assert  a  claim  to  the  lands  further  south  than  the  point 
agreed  upon  by  the  Commissioners  appointed  under  this  treaty? 
Suppose  that  the  Crown  of  Spain  had  continued  in  possession  of 
Florida,  would  the  Government  of  the  United  States  have  permitted 
that  possession  to  be  disturbed  by  such  a  claim  as  is  here  presented, 
in  violation  of  the  faith  she  plighted  in  making  this  compact,  and  of 
the  sacred  obligations  which  it  imposes  ?  To  this,  your  committee  be- 
lieve, that  there  can  be  but  one  answer ;  and  if  the  line  between  Florida 
and  Georgia  could  not  have  been  changed  had  Florida  continued  a 
Spanish  province,  the  same  reason  must  operate  to  prevent  the  change 
under  her  present  circumstances.  Previous  to  the  treaty  of  1795. 
a  question  of  boundary  would  have  been  a  legitimate  subject  of  in- 
vestigation; but,  after  a  solemn  determination  of  it  by  treaty,  it  is. 
and  must  be.  at  rest.  A  treaty  is  the  paramount  law,  and  can  never 
be  violated,  without  a  departure  from  those  principles  which  Gov- 
ernments should  ever  cherish  and  observe  in  their  intercourse  with 
each  other. 

There  is  another  point  of  view  in  which  this  question  may  be  pre- 
sented, and  which,  in  the  estimation  of  your  committee,  must  put  it 
at  rest. 

Thirty-three  years  ago  the  State  of  Georgia  looked  quietly  on, 
when,  according  to  the  "estimation  of  Govenor  Troup,  two  thousand 
square  miles  of  her  territory,  by  a  solemn  act,  were  given  to  a  foreign 
Power,  and  she  was  silent :  at  the  same  time  her  Senators  in  Con- 
gress, instead  of  interposing  her  claim,  consented  to  the  transfer,  and 
ratified  the  act.  Her  Representatives,  ever  on  the  alert,  and  ready 
to  sound  the  alarm  at  the  slightest  approach  towards  an  invasion 
of  her  soil  and  her  limits,  on  this  occasion,  not  only  neglected  to  assert 
her  rights,  but  confirmed  the  contract,  so  far  as  Georgia  could  do  it, 
by  voting  for  the  necessary  appropriations  to  carry  this  treaty  into 
effect.  Upon  a  more  recent  occasion,  under  similar  circumstances, 
Georgia  has  pursued  the  same  course:  by  the  treaty  of  1819.  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Spain  sold  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Florida,  embracing  the  land  now  the  subject  of  controversy, 
and  Georgia  still  remained  silent ;  her  Senators  joined  in  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  treaty,  and  still  interposed  no  claim:  her  Representa- 
tives voted  away  the  money  of  the  United  States  to  carry  this  treaty 
into  effect,  and  still  asserted  none  of  the  violated  rights  of  Georgia ; 
and  yet  we  are  told  this  claim  has  its  foundation  in  her  charter! 


68  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

The  only  remaining  document  referred  to  by  his  Excellency  is 
"  the  Constitution  of  Georgia."  Could  this  instrument,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  your  committee  be  regarded  as  evidence  in  the  settlement  of 
this  controversy,  it  Avould  produce  no  change  in  its  character,  be- 
cause it  employs  the  identical  expressions  used  in  the  treaty  of  peace 
of  1T83,  and  the  treaty  with  Spain  of  1795.  to  wit:  "  the  head  of  the 
St.  Mary's  river."  Your  committee  would  however  remark  that  his 
Excellency  John  Forsyth,  the  present  Governor  of  Georgia,  in  a 
communication  made  by  him  to  the  Legislature  of  that  State,  since 
the  message  of  Governor  Troup,  refers  as  authority  to  an  act  of  the 
Provincial  Assembly  of  Georgia,  of  date  1765.  to  show  that  the  lands 
embraced  in  the  King's  proclamation  of  1763  were  laid  out  into  par- 
ishes, and  that  the  most  southern  parish  was  declared  to  be  bounded 
on  the  Florida  side,  by  the  most  southern  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's 
river,  and  by  a  line  running  due  west  from  the  head  of  that  river. 
Did  this  testimony,  so  recently  discovered  by  his  present  Excellency 
of  Georgia,  afford  any  cause  for  alarm,  your  committee  believe  that 
they  could  avoid  its  effects  by  protesting  against  its  employment:  for 
there  is  no  position  more  easily  sustained,  in  the  estimation  of  your 
committee,  than  the  one  which  objects  to  a  party's  making  testimony, 
to  be  used  in  a  controversy  against  his  adversary:  but.  as  your  com- 
mittee believe  that  no  injury  can  result  from  the  use  of  this  docu- 
ment, they  will  proceed  to  an  examination  of  its  merits.  The  most 
southern  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's  river  is  declared  to  be  the  bound- 
ary of  the  southern  parish  of  Georgia :  and.  by  adverting  to  the 
maps  upon  which  that  river  is  marked,  it  will  be  seen  that  it  divides 
itself  into  two  branches,  not  far  above  its  mouth,  and  by  which  it 
discharges  itself  into  the  Cumberland  sound.  The  southern  branch 
here  is  unquestionably  the  one  alluded  to  in  the  act  of  the  Provincial 
Assembly,  and  to  which,  it  is  highly  probable,  the  claims  of  Georgia 
will  never  be  contested :  the  remaining  part  of  that  act.  which  men- 
tions a  line  running  due  west  from  the  head  of  that  river,  clearly 
establishes  the  incorrectness  of  the  position  contended  for  by  their 
Excellencies:  and  is.  in  this  controversy,  a  most  valuable  document 
for  Florida.  All  the  authorities  to  which  a  reference  has  been  made 
concur  in  naming  "  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  " 
as  the  point  at  which  this  line  must  commence,  and  "  the  head  of  the 
St.  Mary's,  river  "  as  the  one  at  which  it  must  stop :  it  f ollows.  there- 
fore, that,  if  this  boundary  can  be  ascertained  by  a  line  running  due- 
west  from  "  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  "  it  would  be  equally  ascertained 
by  a  line  running  due  east  from  the  "  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chat- 
tahoochie:" and  by  an  examination  of  the  map,  it  will  be  seen  that 
a  line  running  due  east  from  the  junction  of  those  rivers  would  pass 
to  the  north  of  Ellicott's  Mound. 

Receiving  this  act  of  the  Provincial  Assembly  of  Georgia  as  evi- 
dence of  the  true  boundary  of  that  State,  your  committee  cannot  per- 
ceive by  what  right  she  now  claims  the  southern  branch  of  the  St. 
Mary's  as  the  point  form  which  this  line  should  be  run.  The  south- 
ern branch  is  known  to  be  many  miles  south  of  Ellicott's  Mound; 
and  the  true  line,  according  to  the  evidence  adduced  by  Governor 
Forsyth,  is  to  the  north  of  that  mound.  If  a  line  were  run  due 
west"  from  the  head  of  the  southern  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's,  in- 
stead of  intersecting  the  Apaiachicola  at  the  junction  of  the  Flint 
and  Chattahoochie.  as  it  is  required  to  do,  it  would  be  found  to  cross 


[Doc  No.  43.]  69 

that  river  at  least  forty  miles  lower  down.  This  argument,  deducted, 
as  it  is,  from  testimony  furnished  by  Governor  Forsyth,  is,  in 
the  opinion  of  your  committee,  conclusive  upon  the  subject. 

Your  committee  have  thus  examined  all  the  documents  upon  which 
the  late  and  present  Governors  of  Georgia  seem  to  rely  as  authority; 
and  they  natter  themselves,  that,  while  they  have  derogated  nothing 
from  that  State,  they  have  given  to  them  such  construction  and  expla- 
nations as  they  are  properly  entitled  to  bear.  More,  much  more, 
could  be  adduced,  to  show  the  fallacy  of  this  claim.  If  taken  in  an 
equitable  point  of  view,  it  would  exhibit,  in  stronger  colors,  the 
right  of  the  United  States  to  hold  and  exercise  jurisdiction  over  the 
soil  in  dispute.  A  treaty  was  formed,  expressly  settling  this  bound- 
ary: the  State  of  Georgia  acquiesced  in  it;  and.  for  thirty-three 
years,  she  never  pretended  to  dispute  it.  But.  so  soon  as  a  country, 
then  almost  unknown,  uninhabited  but  by  the  savage,  became  an  ob- 
ject of  interest,  and  teemed  with  civilization  and  wealth,  a  spurious 
claim  is  advanced,  and  earnestly  contended  for.  Xo  matter  what 
may  have  been  the  rights  of  Georgia  anterior  to  the  treaty  of  1795, 
they  cannot  now  lie  asserted  to  any  lands  within  the  Territory  of 
Florida  :  they  are  barred  by  her  acquiescence  and  forbearance.  Your 
committee  cannot  believe  that  an  instance,  can  be  found  in  the  his- 
tory of  nation-,  where  a  treaty  has  been  made  and  ratified,  and  after 
so  great  a  Lapse  of  time  one  of  the  parties  has  been  permitted  to  re- 
scind it.  upon  the  ground  that  injustice  has  been  done.  To  shew, 
furl  her.  the  entire  acquiescence  of  the  State  of  Georgia  to  the  treaty 
of  1795.  your  committee  would  call  the  attention  of  the  Council  to 
an  act  of  Congress,  approved  the  4th  May.  1826,  to  authorize  the 
President  to  run  and  mark  a  line  dividing  the  Territory  of  Florida 
from  the  State  of  Georgia.  It  will  be  recollected  that,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  hostility  of  the  Indian  tribes,  the  Commissioners  under 
the  treaty  with  Spain  only  settled  the  point  designating  the  head  of 
St.  Mary's  river,  and  from  which  the  line  should  be  run:  and  it  was 
to  consummate  the  work  that  this  act  was  passed.  It  is  provided 
therein,  that  "  the  line  to  be  run  and  marked  shall  be  run  straight 
from  the  junction  of  said  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers  to  the  point 
designated  as  tht  head  of  the  St.  Mary^s  river  by  the  Commissioners 
appointed  undt  r  th<  third  article  of  the  treat)/  of  friendship,  limits, 
and  navigation,  between  the  United  states  of  America  and  the  King 
of  Spain,  mad*  at  St.  Lorenzo  eJ  Real,  on  the  seven-and-twentiet7i  day 
of  October.  1795."  Here  it  is  seen  that  the  delegation  from  Georgia, 
representing  the  right  and  interests  of  that  State  in  both  Houses  of 
Congress,  so  late  as  the  year  1826,  sanctioned  an  act  which  recognizes, 
as  the  true  designation  of  the  head  of  "  St.  Mary's  river."  the  point 
agreed  on  by  the  Commissioners. 

Your  committee,  having  concluded  the  duty  with  which  they  were 
charged,  cannot  close  their  report  without  an  expression  of  their  most 
anxious  wishes  that  this  question  should  be  speedily  and  honorably  ad- 
justed; and  that  some  measures  should  be  adopted  for  the  further- 
ance of  that  desirable  object.  The  emigration  which  has  been  rapidly 
flowing  into  this  Territory,  and  much  of  which  has  settled  upon  the 
lands  now  claimed  by  the  State  of  Georgia,  induced  a  belief  that  we 
should  soon  be  received  as  a  member  of  the  confederacy,  and  it  was 
looked  tipon  as  the  consummation  of  our  political  happiness;  but  the 


70  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

agitation  of  this  question  may  have  the  effect  of  retarding  its  prog- 
ress; and  if  these  lands  are  wrested  from  our  jurisdiction,  our  po- 
litical prospects  are  blasted  forever.  Florida  will  then  present  to 
disfranchised  Europe  the  singular  spectacle  of  a  part  of  the  American 
Republic  inhumanly  partitioned  among  her  neighbors,  and,  instead  of 
being  permitted  to  form  a  separate  and  distinct  State  sovereignty, 
to  disseminate  republican  principles,  and  encourage  its  votaries  in 
every  portion  of  the  globe,  she  was  prostrated  at  the  shrine  of  an 
ambitious  neighbor. 

Under  these  views  the  committee  recommend  the  adoption  of  the 
following  resolutions: 

Resolved,  That  our  Delegate  in  Congress  be  respectfully  requested 
to  urge  an  immediate  adjustment  of  the  differences,  and  to  procure,  if 
possible,  an  order  that  the  boundary  line  shall  be  run  and  marked  out 
in  such  a  direction  as  shall  be  in  accordance  with  law,  and  shall  pro- 
mote the  ends  of  justice. 

Resolved,  further,  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  be  requested 
to  address  a  copy  of  the  above  report  and  resolution  to  the  Delegate, 
and  ask  his  immediate  attention  to  the  same. 

Unanimouslv  adopted,  January  1.  1828. 

JN.  L.  DOGGETT, 
President  of  the  Legislative  Council 

A.  Bellamy.  Clerk. 


Copy  of  a  letter  from  the  Delegate  from  Florida  to  the  Chairman  of 
the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the  Senate. 

Sir:  The  question  submitted  for  the  consideration  of  Congress, 
in  relation  to  the  boundary  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida,  is  one 
that  might  have  been  anticipated  from  the  documents  communicated 
from  the  War  Department  at  the  commencement  of  the  session.  I  did 
hope,  that,  before  the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature  of  Georgia,  a 
different  view  would  have  been  taken,  and  direction  given,  to  this 
matter.  It  has,  however,  been  pressed  by  a  resolution  of  that  body, 
and  several  Executive  communications  from  the  Governor  of  that 
State,  which  have  at  length  coerced  its  presentation,  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  to  both  Houses  of  Congress,  accompanied  by  the 
ex-parte  view  taken  of  it  by  them. 

Being  thus  presented,  it  becomes  a  controversy  of  some  magnitude, 
both  in  reference  to  the  amount  of  property  and  the  principles  in- 
volved in  its  decision.  The  United  States  are  nominally  one  party, 
and  the  State  of  Georgia  the  other.  It  cannot  escape  observation, 
however,  that  the  Territory  of  Florida,  the  best  interests  and  future 
hopes  of  which  depend  upon  the  issue,  feels  an  immediate  and  vital 
concern  in  its  decision.  I  contend  that  Georgia  and  the  United  States 
are  not  the  only  parties  really  and  substantially  interested  in  the 
question  of  sovereignty. 

The  treaty  with  Spain,  of  22d  February,  1819.  contains  a  provision 
which  was  intended  for  the  benefit  of  the  ceded  provinces ;  it  is  that 
which  provides  for  their  incorporation  into  the  Union,  as  soon  as 
possible,  consistent  with  the  principles  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 
I  admit  it  is  difficult  to  give  a  construction  to  this  article,  entirely 
satisfactory ;  but    I   think   the    expression   "  incorporation   into   the 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  71 

Union  "  is  evidently  intended  not  to  apply  to  the  individual  inhabit- 
ants, by  giving  them  only  the  privileges  of  American  citizens,  but  to 
the  territory  they  inhabit.  Annexation  to  one  of  the  States  would  be 
a  transfer  to  a  different  sovereignty — an  incorporation  into  that  State, 
and  not  into  the  Union :  such  a  construction  would  be  a  forced  one. 
The  more  natural  idea  is,  that  the  sovereignty  renounced  by  Spain 
was  ultimately  to  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  people,  in  the  same 
manner  with  the  territories  of  the  United  States,  but  to  remain  under 
the  guardianship  of  the  General  Government,  until  the  principles  of 
the  Constitution  would  recognize  their  admission  as  a  State;  with  all 
the  rights  of  sovereignty  now  claimed  by  Georgia.  The  admission 
of  Louisiana  and  Missouri  are  practical  commentaries  on  this  posi- 
tion. Florida  is  now  a  Territory,  possessing  some  of  the  attributes  of 
sovereignty,  and  is  ultimately,  at  no  distant  day.  to  take  her  place  in 
the  confederacy.  If  that  period  should  arrive  before  the  settlement 
of  this  question,  she  will  then  be  the  party  directly  interested  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  pretensions  of  Georgia :  she  will  stand  in  the  place  of 
Spain,  and  will  have  a  right  to  call  on  the  United  States  to  guaranty 
her  limits.  When  Louisiana  was  divided  into  two  territories,  it 
formed  the  ground  of  serious  remonstrance,  supported  by  strong 
reasons:  it  was  said  that  Louisiana  was  one  entire  sovereignty,  en- 
titled to  become  a  member  of  the  Union,  as  Louisiana:  and  again, 
that,  if  subdivision  was  allowable  at  the  pleasure  of  Congress,  their 
admission  might  be  indefinitely  postponed.  This  reasoning  was  dis- 
regarded, on  the  strong  ground  of  necessity,  and  because  the  creation 
of  two  distinct  sovereignties,  instead  of  one,  was  an  extension  of  the 
advantages  stipulated  by  the  treaty.  But  at  this  time  no  one  enter- 
tained the  absurd  idea  of  annexing  parts  of  Louisiana  to  the  adjoining 
States,  although  it  might  have  been  very  convenient  to  have  done  so. 
The  preservation  of  their  municipal  laws  was  a  most  important  con- 
sideration with  the  people  of  that  province,  and  this  would  not  have 
been  accomplished  if  they  had  been  annexed  to  one  of  the  adjoining 
States.  I  consider  the  stipulation  of  the  treaty  a  most  important  one, 
as  intended  to  place  the  acquired  provinces  on  a  footing  with  the 
States  which  declared  their  independence,  and  possessing  as  much 
right  to  contend  for  their  boundaries,  by  reference  to  treaties,  proc- 
lamations and  laws,  emanating  from  parties  competent  to  negotiate 
or  legislate,  as  Georgia,  or  any  other  State  in  the  Union.  These 
provinces  were  not  acquired  with  a  view  of  obtaining  subjects  for  any 
of  the  States ;  and  as  to  the  United  States,  the  genius  of  our  Govern- 
ment forbids  it,  unless  the  ten  miles  square  be  an  exception.  If  I  am 
mistaken  in  this  view  of  the  subject,  I  shall  at  least  be  excused  refer- 
ring to  the  position  I  occupy  in  relation  to  the  people  of  Florida,  and 
as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  for  exposing  what  I  consider  the 
groundless  pretensions  of  Georgia  to  the  land  in  question. 

This  controversy  involves  two  questions:  the  one  of  national  law, 
the  other  of  fact.  It  is  assumed  by  the  Executive  of  Georgia,  that 
the  line  agreed  upon  and  fixed  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  United 
States  and  Spain,  in  pursuance  of  the  treaty  of  limits  entered  into  at 
San  Lorenzo  el  Real,  on  the  27th  October,  1795,  is  not  the  true 
boundary  intended  by  the  charter  of  Georgia  and  the  treaty  of  1783 ; 
but  that  the  head  and  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  stipulated  in 
these  documents,  is  farther  south ;  which  will  give  to  Georgia  fifteen 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  land,  claimed  by  the  United  States  as  a 


72  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

portion  of  the  Spanish  territory  acquired  by  the  treaty  of  22d  Feb- 
ruary, 1819;  about  eight  hundred  square  miles  of  which  has  been 
sold  and  patented  by  the  United  States,  and  the  money  paid  into  the 
public  treasury,  with  the  unsuspecting  confidence  of  the  right  of  soil, 
at  the  time  it  was  surveyed  and  sold.  Whether  this  be  true  or  not — 
which  it  cannot  be  expected  will  be  conceded  without  further  investi- 
gation ;  since  not  only  the  commission  appointed  in  pursuance  of  the 
treaty  before  mentioned,  but  a  commission  constituted  by  the  State 
of  Georgia  herself,  have  pronounced,  that,  in  their  opinion,  it  is  not 
so — there  is  a  previous  question  to  be  determined,  to  wit :  Does  not 
the  treaty  of  1795,  the  proceedings  under  it,  the  consent  of  Georgia, 
as  a  component  part  of  the  Union,  exercising  an  unquestionable  con- 
stitutional power  in  the  negotiation  and  ratification  of  a  treaty  of 
limits,  the  acquiescence  of  the  State  for  twenty-seven  years,  by  their 
delegation  here,  and  their  Executive  there,  exclude  them  from  setting 
up  this  claim  at  this  time?  Or,  does  the  charter  of  the  colony,  the 
constitution  of  the  State,  so  far  exempt  them  from  the  operation  of 
this  treaty,  and  their  assent  to  it  so  formally  given,  and  publicly 
expressed,  as  to  authorize  them  to  set  aside  the  treaty,  and  proceed- 
ings under  it.  and  now  institute  an  inquiry  as  to  what  is  the  true 
source  of  St.  Mary's  river*  I  think  Georgia  cannot  constitutionally 
or  justly  assert  such  a  claim,  and  I  trust  it  will  be  resisted  with  a  be- 
coming regard  for  the  interests  of  the  United  States  and  the  Terri- 
tory I  have  the  honor  to  represent. 

The  first  charter  granted  to  Georgia  was  in  the  5th  year  of  George 
II.  Anno  Domini  1732,  which  embraced  all  that  part  of  Carolina 
lying  between  the  Savannah  river  on  the  north,  and  the  Altamaha 
on  the  south.  In  the  year  1763.  the  King,  by  his  royal  proclamation, 
made  four  new  provinces  in  the  country  acquired  in  America  by  the 
definitive  treaty  of  peace,  concluded  at  Paris  on  the  10th  February 
of  that  year.  These  provinces  were  Quebec,  Grenada,  'East  and 
West  Florida.  In  designating  the  boundaries  of  East  Florida,  in 
that  proclamation,  the  following  expression  is  used;  "from  that 
fart  of  the  ApalacKiola  where  the  Okattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers 
meet,  to  the  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  rim:  and  by  the  course  of  the 
said  river,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean"  In  this  proclamation,  there  i- 
also  a  grant  in  these  words:  "We  hare,  also,  with  the  advice  of  our 
Privy  Council  aforesaid,  annexed  to  our  Province  of  Georgia  all  the 
lands  lying  between  the  rivers  Atamaha  and  St.  Mary^s"  It  will  be 
perceived  from  an  examination  of  the  foregoing  article  in  the  King- 
proclamation,  that  the  land  annexed  by  it  to  the  Province  of  Georgia, 
south  of  the  river  Altamaha,  did  not  extend  beyond  the  source  of 
that  river,  and  that  of  the  St.  Maiy's.  I  have  not  been  able  to  dis- 
cover any  grant,  proclamation,  or  public  act.  by  which  the  State  of 
Georgia  could  set  up  any  thing  like  a  legitimate  claim  west  and  south 
of  a  line  drawn  from  the  head  of  the  river  Altamaha  to  that  of  the 
St.  Mary's.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  can,  with  much  more  propriety,  annex  all  the  land  not  in- 
cluded within  such  a  line,  and  consequently  not  within  the  chartered 
limits  of  that  State,  to  Florida,  than  to  institute  an  investigation,  at 
this  time,  to  find  a  southern  creek  running  into  St.  Mary's,  for  the 
boundary  of  that  State.  The  commission  given  to  Sir  James 
Wright,  on  the  20th  January  1764,  if  it  conferred  a  jurisdiction  be- 
yond the  proclamation,  could  not  be  considered  a  grant  of  soil:  the 
one  is  a  law  fixing  upon  certain  geographical  limits  as  the  boundaries 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  73 

of  provinces:    the  other,  an  authority  to  exercise  jurisdiction  speci- 
fied in  the  grant  of  power.     The  commission  of  Sir  James  Wright 
calls  for  the  southern  stream  of  St.  Mary's:  as  this  is  repugnant  to 
-the  grant  of  soil  of  both  the  Provinces  of  Georgia  and  East  Florida, 
it  must  be  holden.  like  all  commissions  containing  authority  more 
extensive  than  the  law  on  which  they  are  founded,  void  pro  tanto. 
This  variance  can  reasonably  be  accounted  for  by  a  reference  to  the 
fact,  that,  in  the  first  charter  to  Georgia,  the  most  southern  stream 
of  the  Altamaha  was  fixed  upon  as  the  southern  limit  of  the  colony, 
and  the  commission  to  the  Governor  and  Captain  General  pursued 
the  charter.     The  second  commission,  after  the   annexation   by  the 
proclamation  before  quoted,  appears  to  be  a  copy  of  the  first,  and  in 
like  manner,  rail-  for  the  most  southern  branch  of  the  St.  Mary'-, 
which   doc-   not    accord   with   the   proclamation.     The    Governor   of 
Georgia,  in  a  communication  to  the  Legislature  of  that  State,  of  28th 
November  last,  -peaks  of  the  land  annexed  to  Georgia  by  the  King's 
proclamation  and  the  commission  of  Sir  James  Wright.     It  will  be 
perceived   that  the  latter  includes  more  than  the  former,  and  that 
they  cannot  be  connected  together  as  embracing  the  same  territorial 
extent  :    ami  if  it  be  correct  that  a   commission  conferring  powers 
more  extensive  than  the  law  on  which  it  is  founded  be  void,  the 
argument   of  course   cannot   be  maintained,   and   the   conclusion   to 
which  the  Governor  conducts  us,  "  that  a  portion  of  the  land  within 
the  limits  of  Georgia  on  the  Florida  frontier  has  been  surveyed  and 
sold  by  the  United" States."  is  fallacious.     A  very  obvious  distinction 
might  here  be  taken  between  a  proclamation — which  is  notice  to  all 
the  world,  and  has  the  force  of  law — and  a  commission,  which  gives 
jurisdiction,  and  is  of  a  nature  to  be  regulated  by  convenience,  and 
may  be  limited  to  one.  or  extended  to  half  a  dozen  Provinces.     If. 
however,  any  doubt  should  remain,  from  this  discrepancy,  it  is  put 
to  rest  by  the  treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  of 
3d  September.  1783:  this  treaty,  which  fixes  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  directs  that  our 
southern  boundary  shall  pursue  a  line  in  latitude  31°  north  of  the 
equator.  "  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola  or  Chattahoochie : 
thence  along  the  middle  thereof,  to  it  junction  with  the  Flint  river: 
and  thence,  straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river."     So  far,  there- 
fore, as  any  argument   has  ben  urged,  founded  on  the  charter  of 
Georgia.  I  feel  "persuaded  that  it  will  be  considered  as  having  no 
force  in  opposition  to  the  treaty:    it  was  certainly  competent  for  the 
confederacy  in  concluding  a  peace,  at  the  termination  of  the  war  of 
Independence,  to  regulate  the  boundaries  of  any  of  the  former  colo- 
nies.    Contemporaneously   with   the   definitive   treaty   of   peace   be-' 
tween  the  United  States 'and  Great  Britain,  was  the  cession  of  East 
and  West  Florida  by  Great  Britain  to  Spain :  and  the  question  arose 
between  his  Catholic  Majesty  and  our  Government,  what  was  the 
head  and  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  as  defined  in  the  charter  of 
Georgia  and  East  Florida,  and  the  treaty  of  1783?     The  binding- 
force  of  the  treaty  of  1783  is  admitted  by  Governors  Troup  and  For- 
syth, and  it  is  referred  to  by  them;  and  the  treaty  of  1795,  between 
Spain  and  the  United  States,  follows  it  almost  literally  in  the  de- 
scription of  the  boundaries  between  the  two  countries:    but  these 
boundaries,  excepting  where  determined  by  natural  objects,  required 
ascertainment  by  actual  survey  and  demarcation :    it  was  necessary 


74  [Doc.  Xo.  43.] 

to  ascertain  the  31st  degree  of  latitude  by  astronomical*  observation, 

and  afterwards  to  trace  the  line  by  actual  survey:  to  accomplish 
this,  was  inserted  the  3d  article  of  the  treaty  of  1795.  Can  it  be 
denied  that  it  was  competent  to  the  United  States  to  enter  into  stipu- 
lations with  Spain,  to  carry  into  effect  the  treaty  of  1783?  And 
does  the  treaty  of  1705  profess  to  do  any  thing  more  I  There  is  no 
cession  of  territory:  the  sole  and  exclusive  object  of  the  treaty 
limits  was  to  carry  the  former  treaty  into  effect :  what  then  has  the 
Constitution  of  Georgia  to  do  with  the  question?  By  relation,  the 
act  ascertaining  the  limits  according  to  the  principles  adopted  in  the 
treaty  of  1783,  became  a  part  of  that  treaty.  In  order  to  preclude 
further  dispute,  and  terminate  discussion,  it  was  stipulated  that  the 
plats  and  journals  of  the  Commissioner-  should  form  a  part  of  the 
treaty  of  limits:  the  line  thus  practically  ascertained  is  to  be  con- 
sidered as  if  expressed  in  that  treaty.  Without  pursuing  this  course, 
the  treaty  of  1783,  as  regards  the  limits  between  Spain  and  the 
United  States,  wouid  have  been  a  dead  letter,  or  at  least  useless  for 
any  practical  purpose :  both  treaties  speak  of  the  junction  of  the 
Flint  and  Chattahoochie  as  one  point,  and  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's 
as  the  other,  at  which  the  line  was  to  begin  and  terminate :  the  first 
required  no  other  ascertainment  than  that  of  the  treaty  of  1783;  the 
second  required  the  exercise  of*judgment  and  research:  there  could 
be  no  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  first,  but  it  was  not  the  case  as 
to  the  last.  Like  all  other  rivers,  the  St.  Mary's  has  many  heads, 
and  different  opinions  might  exist  as  to  that  most  deserving  of  the 
name.  It  was.  therefore  necessary  to  settle  the  matter  by  convention 
and  agreement;  and.  if  this  were  done  fairly,  and  without  fraud  it 
should  be,  and  is,  as  binding  on  the  parties  as  if  it  were  inserted  in 
the  treaty  of  1783.  Xo  unfairness  is  alleged :  the  interest  of  the 
United  States  prompted  their  Commissioner  to  obtain  the  most  ad- 
vantageous adjustment :  and  he  did  not  yield  in  intelligence  to  that 
of  Spain.  The  United  States  had.  at  this  time,  no  adverse  interest 
to  that  of  Georgia ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  their  interest  to  obtain 
for  that  State  as  much  as  they  could.  If  the  interest  of  Georgia  had 
been  compromised  by  the  fraud  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  United 
States,  I  do  not  say  there  would  be  no  ground  for  a  claim  of  indem- 
nity for  the  injury  sustained.  But  suppose  Spain  had  continued  in 
possession  of  Florida,  and  this  question  had  arisen  between  her  and 
Georgia — the  parties  would  be  placed  in  a  singular  attitude.  Spain 
would  have  had  just  reason  to  complain,  unless  guarantied  by  the 
United  States,  in  what  had  solemnly  been  settled  and  assured  to  her. 
The  matter,  after  having  been  determined  by  the  proper  parties,  the 
only  parties  competent  to  determine  it.  acquiesced  in  for  twenty- 
seven  years,  during  which  time  an  examination  has  been  made  by  a 
commission  constituted  by  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  a  report  made, 
that  this  was  the  head  of  the  river.  Upon  what  principle  can  this 
matter  be  opened,  or  rather  considered  as  never  having  been  settled  ? 
I  think  it  ought  to  be  considered  res  ad  judicata,  and  the  maxim 
"  interet  Reipublicce  ut  finis  litiura  "  applied — a  maxim  more  im- 
portant in  the  disputes  of  nations  than  to  the  controversy  of  indi- 
viduals. Suppose  Spain  had  attempted  to  extend  her  jurisdiction 
beyond  Ellicott's  Mound,  should  we  have  not  appealed  to  the  ascer- 
tainment and  decision  in  pursuance  of  the  treaty  of  1795?  And 
would  not  Georgia  have  justly  complained  of  the  bad  faith  of  Spain, 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  75 

and  called  down  upon  her  the  curse  of  Scripture,  for  attempting  to 
remove  her  neighbor's  landmarks? 

Justice  does  not  vary  with  the  change  of  parties.  If  such  preten- 
sion would  have  been  unjust  on  the  part  of  Spain,  it  would  be  equally 
so  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  or  of  Georgia.  The  necessity  of 
adhering  to  treaties,  when  entered  into,  has  been  fully  and  ably  urged 
by  Governor  Troup  on  another  occasion.  If  the  question  would  be 
considered  as  settled  between  Spain  and  the  United  States,  I  can  see 
no  reason  why  the  subsequent  acquisition  of  Florida  should  give  rise 
to  it  again;  and  if  there  be  any  force  in  the  argument  that  "Georgia 
and  the  United  States  are  the  only  parties,  as  the  Delegate  of  Flor- 
ida. I  solemnly  protest  against  any  alteration  of  the  boundaries,  with- 
out the  consent  of  my  constituents. 

[f  there  is  any  grant  of  authority  in  the  Constitution,  unquestion- 
able in  its  nature,  and  I  had  almost  said  unlimited  in  its  extent,  it  is 
the  treaty- ma  king  power  given  to  the  General  Government.  The 
safety  of  the  States  was  amply  provided  for,  by  requiring  the  ratifi- 
cation of  the  Senate,  their  immediate  representatives.  It  cannot  be 
expected  that  such  a  body  would  ever  advise  or  consent  to  any  con- 
vention that  would  injure  themselves  or  their  States.  An  encroach- 
ment, in  one  instance,  would  only  be  a  precedent  for  its  repetition  in 
another;  and  the  first  blow  would  strike  a  nerve  which  would  agitate 
the  body  politic  in  all  its  parts.  The  United  States  did  not  profess 
to  cede  any  portion  of  Georgia,  but  to  have  its  limits  ascertained. 
The  State  of  Georgia  is  prohibited,  b}^  the  Constitution  from  forming 
any  compact,  convention,  or  alliance,  or  entering  into  any  negotiation 
with  a  foreign  power,  on  the  subject  of  boundary,  or  any  other  sub- 
ject whatever.  She  can  negotiate  only  through  the  Government  of 
the  United  States;  and  any  act  constitutionally  performed  by  that 
Government,  in  which  her  interests  arc  affected,  she  is  bound  by.  as 
much  as  if  executed  by  herself.  This  is  the  only  organ  through 
which  her  complaints  can  be  heard,  and  her  rights  protected,  in  con- 
troversies with  other  nations.  The  assent  of  the  State  was  given  to 
the  treaty  of  1705,  which  was  entered  into  by  her  duly  constituted 
agent,  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  on  a  subject  matter 
within  their  legitimate  jurisdiction;  and,  by  that,  Georgia  is  con- 
stitutionally  and  morally  bound — num  ille  qui  facit  per  alium  facit 
per  se.  It  would  be  in  vain  that  powers  were  given  and  treaties 
made,  it'  one  individual  state  had  the  right  of  resisting  the  solemn 
conventions  of  the  General  Government,  their  own  Representatives  a 
component  part,  without  any  respect  to  their  having  been  executed 
according  to  all  the  forms  of  the  Constitution,  or  to  limitations  as  to 
time. 

The  assent  of  Georgia  was  not  only  given  to  the  treaty  of  1795,  but 
upon  a  recent  occasion,  in  the  enactment  of  a  law\  in  the  execution  of 
which  this  difficulty  occurred,  it  was  still  more  clearly  and  unequivo- 
cally expressed.  That  law  was  introduced  by  a  part  of  the  Georgia 
delegation,  at  the  instance  of  the  Executive  of  that  State.  This  act, 
as  introduced  by  them,  and  in  the  form  in  wdiich  it  passed,  did  not 
provide  for  ascertaining  the  limits  between  the  State  and  Territory; 
but  authorized  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  conjunction 
with  the  constituted  authorities  of  Georgia,  "  to  cause  the  line  to 
be  run  and  distinctly  marked,"  and  ;'  the  line  so  to  be  run  and 
marked  shall  be  straight  from  the  junction  of  the  Chattahoochie  and 
43064— S.  Doe.  4G7.  60-1 S 


76  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

Flint,  to  the  point  designated  as  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river,  by  the 
commissioners  appointed  under  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of 
1795." 

It  never  occurred  to  that  highly  respectable  delegation  that  it  was 
competent  for  the  United  States  to  do  any  thing  more  than  to  exe- 
cute the  unfinished  work  of  running  and  marking  the  line  between 
the  two  points  agreed  upon  by  the  two  Governments  of  Spain  and 
the  United  States ;  and  it  appears  never  to  have  occurred  to  the  Exec- 
utive of  Georgia,  until  the  work  was  nearly  completed.  The  bill,  as 
it  was  introduced  by  them,  was  objected  to  by  me,  on  the  ground  that 
it  should  only  provide  for  running  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's.  It  did 
not  occur  to  me  that  the  journals  and  proceedings  of  the  commis- 
sioners were  to  be  a  part  of  the  treaty  itself.  Of  this,  however,  I 
was  soon  informed  by  Governor  Forsyth,  who  referred  to  that  article 
of  the  treaty,  and  convinced  not  only  myself,  but  the  committee,  that 
the  question  having  been  settled  by  the  two  nations,  it  could  not  now 
be  disturbed.  My  opposition  to  the  bill,  as  it  came  from  the  Senate, 
was  induced  by  having  learnt  that  there  was  a  northern  branch  of  the 
St.  Mary's,  of  greater  extent  than  the  one  selected  by  Ellicott  and  the 
Spanish  commissioner,  which;  if  ascertained  to  be  the  head  of  the 
river,  would  give  to  Florida  as  much  land  above  the  line  as  is  now 
claimed  by  Georgia  below  it.  I  was  convinced,  however,  by  the  argu- 
ments of  Governor  Forsyth,  (and  few  men  have  greater  powers  to 
convince  than  that  gentleman,  on  all  questions  requiring  learning 
and  talent,)  that,  however  just  our  claim,  it  was  one  that  could  not 
be  asserted,  in  consequence  of  its  having  been  definitely  settled  by 
this  treaty,  which  I  now  plead  in  bar  of  further  proceeding.  The 
discovery  of  a  southern  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's  has  altered  the  case, 
but  does  not  alter,  in  my  judgment,  the  principle  on  which  it  should 
be  decided.  When  this  bill  came  up  for  consideration,  no  objection 
was  made  to  it  by  the  delegation  from  Georgia,  in  either  House.  If 
they  supposed  that  the  question  was  yet  open  for  discussion,  why  was 
the  bill  permitted  to  pass  confining  the  operation  to  the  two  points 
agreed  upon  ?  I  do  not  know  that  any  limitation  has  been  prescribed 
to  nations  or  sovereignties,  but  it  does  appear  to  me  that  Georgia, 
after  all  these  proceedings,  ought  not  to  claim  an  exemption  from 
their  operation,  or  to  avail  herself  of  the  common  law  maxim,  "  nul- 
lum tempus  occurrit  Regi."  As  I  contend  that  no  further  legislation 
is  necessary  on  this  subject,  I  will  only  refer  to  a  few  facts  to  show  the 
intrinsic  difficulties  of  any  further  proceedings. 

The  commissioner  of  the  United  States,  a  gentleman  of  practical 
science  and  great  erudition,  who  is  alike  distinguished  for  his  activ- 
ity, personal  industry,  and  intellectual  refinement,  declares  that  the 
source  of  the  St.  Mary's  is  not  only  indeterminate,  but  indeterminable 
by  any  geographical  or  physical  process  whatever.  I  take  the  liberty 
to  annex  two  extracts  from  the  letters  of  that  gentleman  to  me,  which 
place  the  subject  in  such  a  clear  light,  and  are  expressed  in  so  much 
better  language  than  I  can  employ,  that  no  remark  of  mine  is  neces- 
sary on  the  points  to  which  they  relate. 

Upon  most  occasions,  there  is  little  difficulty  in  finding  the  head  of 
a  river.  The  longest  branch  from  its  disemboguement,  or  the  one 
which  discharges  the  most  water,  is  not  always  the  head  of  the  river. 
Names  are  arbitrary.  The  Escambia  river,  which  discharges  itself 
into  the  head  of  Pensacola  Bay,  has  two  branches,  arising  within 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  '   77 

one  hundred  miles  of  its  mouth ;  whilst  that  of  the  Conecuh,  which 
also  runs  into  it,  is  almost  twice  as  long,  discharges  the  most  water, 
and  yet  is  certainly  not  the  head  of  tlie  Escambia,  which  has  been 
known  by  that  name  more  than  half  a  century.  This  southern  branch 
of  St.  Mary's,  which  has  lately  been  discovered,  and  sought  to  be 
made  the  boundary  of  Georgia,  has  been  known,  from  time  immemo- 
rial, by  a  different  name,  and  was  no  more  thought  of  as  the  river 
known  by  the  name  of  St.  Mary's,  than  the  Conecuh  is  now  of  the 
Escambia.  It  may  discharge  ten  times  the  quantity  of  water,  and 
yet  not  be  the  head  of  St.  Mary's,  as  known  at  the  time  the  charter 
was  granted  to  Georgia,  or  when  the  treaties  of  1783  and  1795  were 
made.  The  northern  and  what  is  now  called  the  middle  branch,  near 
which  the  mound  of  Ellicott  is  erected,  were  then  considered  the  only 
branches  of  what  is  properly  called  the  St.  Mary's ;  and  the  general 
idea  which  prevailed  at  the  time,  was,  that  Ellicott,  the  American 
commissioner,  had  obtained  the  advantage  of  the  Spanish,  in  fixing 
the  mound  near  what  was,  before  this  new  discovery  and  new  name, 
the  southern  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's.  If  the  commission  of  Sir 
James  Wright,  referred  to  by  Governor  Forsyth,  was  not  copied  by 
mistake,  from  the  first  calling  for  the  southern  branch  of  Altamaha, 
this  middle  one  was  evidently  intended.  The  provincial  authorities, 
in  the  regulation  of  their  parish,  so  considered  it :  the  Board  of  Trade 
and  Plantations,  in  England,  so  thought ;  and  the  commissioners  of 
Georgia,  appointed  under  the  authority  of  the  State,  so  reported. 
It  is  known  that,  at  the  time  the  examination  was  made  by  the  sur- 
veyor of  Georgia,  it  was  a  season  of  unparalleled  drought,  and,  at 
another  time,  he  might  have  made  the  same  investigation,  when  all 
the  waters  of  that  vast  reservoir  composing,  and  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Okefenoke  Swamp,  discharging  themselves  through  this  middle 
channel,  would  have  furnished  more  water  in  a  month  than  the  South 
Creek  did  in  a  year.  In  a  country  remarkable  for  its  calcareous  com- 
binations, new  springs  may  break  out,  and  branches  be  formed,  which 
did  not  exist  half  a  century  ago. 

I  have  heard  it  suggested  that  Ellicott's  report  was  not  to  be  found 
in  the  Department  of  State :  it  will  be  observed  that  the  treaty  speaks 
of  "  the  journal"  of  which  we  have  a  copy  in  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress; and  this  objection  cannot  be  urged  by  Georgia,  because  it  was 
stated  to  Col.  Eandolph,  the  commissioner  of  the  United  States,  at 
Milledgeville,  by  the  Executive,  that  the  journal  was  considered  au- 
thentic there,  and  would  be  acted  upon  as  such.  This  journal  was 
composed  after  the  report  was  made;  and,  as  a  matter  of  history, 
would  be  considered  conclusive,  even  if  it  were  not  made  a  part  of 
the  treaty ;  after  this  lapse  of  time,  it  would  hardly  be  expected,  that, 
in  relation  to  a  fact  of  such  notoriety,  it  would  be  required  to  sup- 
port it  with  such  technical  evidence  as  a  certified  copy  from  Spain, 
because  by  accident  or  negligence,  it  has  been  lost.  We  might  as  well 
demand  from  Georgia  a  certified  copy  of  her  charter  from  England 
at  this  day.  If  any  evidence  of  its  authenticity  were  demanded,  or 
corroboration  of  the  general  history  of  the  country,  it  will  be  found 
in  the  ostensibility  of  the  mounds,  and  the  objects  and  marks  de- 
scribed. 

In  conclusion,  I  solemnly  believe  that  the  United  States  have  a 
much  stronger  claim  to  all  the  land  above  what  has  been  called  the 
Florida  boundary  west  of  a  line  from  the  sources  of  the  Altamaha 


78  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

and  St.  Mary's,  to  the  limit  of  the  first  charter,  before  the  annexation 
by  the  King's  proclamation,  than  Georgia  has  to  the  land  now  in 
contest,  south  of  Ellicott's  line ;  and,  if  that  were  added  to  Florida, 
we  should  be  a  state  next  year — "  a  consummation  most  devoutly  to 
be  wished." 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 

With  high  considerations, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

JOS.  M.  WHITE. 


Extracts  of  letters  from  Thomas  M.  Randolph,  Esq.,  United  States 
Commissioner,  to  Jos.  M.  White,  Delegate  from  Florida. 


December  23,  1827. 
Dear  Sir:  I  not  only  concur  fully  in  opinion  with  you  upon  the 
question  of  the  Georgia  claim,  but  I  really  think,  with  gravity,  that 
Georgia  might  have  as  reasonably  set  up  a  claim,  when  Louisiana  was 
acquired,  to  the  exterior  of  her  territory  as  far  as  the  Anglo-Ameri- 
can Andes,  because  it  reached  the  Mississippi  before.  "  All  the  lands 
lying  between  the  rivers  Alatamaha  and  St.  Mary's,"  to  take  50  miles 
wide  over  St.  Mary's,  is  as  unreasonable,  in  my  opinion,  as  the  former 
would  have  been.  The  head  of  St.  Mary's  was  known  as  soon  as 
there  was  a  settlement  at  its  mouth:  for  the  Indians  of  Old  Mico 
and  the  Micasucky  toAvns  went  there  to  trade  very  soon  after,  and 
were  soon  followed  by  great  numbers  of  those  residing  on  the  waters 
running  into  the  gulf ;  all  of  whom  turned  out  where  Suwanee  runs 
out  of  it,  and  crossed  St.  Mary's  about  three  miles  below  Ellicott's 
Mound,  at  what  is  called  the  Pine  Log  Crossing  Place  to  this  day, 
because  a  very  tall  tree  would  reach  across  that  place.  They  were 
always  said  to  have  come  by  the  head  of  St.  Mary's;  and  that  trail 
is  acknowledged  to  be  very  ancient.  The  reconnoitering  party  sent 
by  Ellicott  and  Minor,  although  they  passed  the  mouth  of  what  is 
called,  to  this  day,  the  South  Prong,  by  the  people  residing  near, 
went  directly  up  the  St.  Mary's  river  to  look  for  its  head.  They 
had  no  thought  of  any  other  St.  Mary's.  The  Privy  Council  in 
England  had  no  more  thought  of  any  other  than  they  had:  for  it 
runs  parallel,  mainly,  with  the  Altamaha,  while  the  South  Prong  is  at 
right  angles  to  that  river,  and  would  have  been  an  indefinite  bound- 
ary. The  Provincial  Assembly  of  Georgia  could  not  have  contem- 
plated any  other  in  March,  1765 :  for  they  bound  their  parish  by  a 
due  west  line  from  the  head  of  the  most  southern  branch  they  knew 
of.  Now,  from  what  has  been  hitherto  considered  the  head,  a  line, 
according  to  Ellicott's  calculation,  from  the  north  towards  the  west 
of  89°  17'  22",  would  strike  the  junction  of  Flint  and  Chattahoochie ; 
of  course  N.  90°  W.,  or  due  west,  would  strike  lower  down  the  Apa- 
lachicola,  being  more  to  the  left  hand  in  going:  how  much  lower 
still  must  a  parallel  line,  or  another  due  west  course,  starting  50 
miles  further  south,  come  in  contact  with  that  river?  The  Provincial 
Assembly  could  not  have  made  such  a  mistake;  I  am  persuaded 
they  did  not  make  it.  Spanish  creek,  at  the  mouth  of  which  was 
the  Indian  trading  establishment,  called  Trader's  Hill,  was  the  north 
branch  to  them,  and   the   St.  Mary's   itself  the  south  branch.     It 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  79 

would  be  as  reasonable  to  insist  on  the  head  of  the  Missouri  now,  in 
constructing  a  document  of  old  date  calling  for  the  source  of  the 
Mississippi,  as  to  shift  the  name  of  St.  Mary's  where  it  never  was 
before.  To  those  at  all  acquainted  with  the  theory  of  rivers,  it  is 
well  known  how  illusory  the  test  applied  by  Mr.  McBride  is,  where 
they  have  expansions  even  sufficient  to  cause  the  stagnation,  for  a 
time,  of  most  part  of  their  waters,  much  more  where  their  origin  i> 
a  great  reservoir.  But  in  the  supposition  that  Mr.  McBride  has 
determined  the  section  of  the  channel  accurately,  and  has  made  a 
correction  for  the  superior  velocity  of  the  middle  of  the  stream  on 
the  surface,  the  basin  of  the  St.  Mary's,  of  one  hundred  times  greater 
area,  perhaps  being  flat  and  shallow,  while  the  other  is  deep,  might 
have  afforded  less  water  at  that  time,  and  yet,  at  another,  might 
yield  as  much  in  one  week  as  the  south  prong  in  half  a  year ;  and  even 
if  the  latter  did  furnish  most,  which  I  am  very  sure  is  impossible  for 
the  whole  year,  it  would  be  as  unreasonable  to  call  the  centre  of  its 
lake  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,  as  for  the  Scots  of  Glasgow  to  look 
for  the  head  of  the  Clyde  in  the  middle  of  Loch  Lomond ;  the  outlet  of 
which  pours  into  Clyde,  perpetually,  more,  by  many  times,  than  all 
its  waters :  for  Loch  Lomond  has  a  manifold  greater  space  to  supply 
its  waters  than  the  Clyde,  and  the  ratio  is  both  inverse  and  infinitely 
greater  in  the  American  case." 


December  26,  1827. 

"  Dear  Sir  :  In  the  hasty  letter  I  had  the  honor  to  address  you 
lately,  I  stated,  what  I  believe  you  will  readily  establish  upon  investi- 
gation as  an  historical  fact,  that  the  stream  called  the  St.  Mary's 
by  Ellicott  had  been  known  by  that  name,  at  its  head,  for  a  great 
length  of  time  before,  in  consequence  of  the  Indian  trading  path  to 
St.  Mary's,  and  afterwards  to  Colerain  and  Trader's  hill,  having 
always  crossed  it  there. 

"  The  commissioners  of  the  United  States  and  Spain,  in  February, 
1800.  had  never  heard  the  name  applied  to  any  other:  for  Ellicott 
does  not  speak  of  such  a  question  having  arisen  between  him  and 
Minor.  The  outlet  of  the  main  lake,  unobserved  by  them,  has  not 
even  been  indicated  in  their  map:  so  far  were  they  from  the  idea 
that  the  name  of  St,  Mary's  was  susceptible  of  being  shifted  over 
to  one  of  these  lateral  branches. 

"  I  will  take  the  liberty  now  to  communicate  another  fact,  of  a 
different  nature,  coming  under  the  chorographic  head  of  the  subject. 
Within  four  miles  of  the  lake  which  gives  rise  to  the  south  prong, 
another  lake  has  been  found,  of  somewhat  larger  surface,  but  afford- 
ing less  water,  out  of  which  flows  what  it  called  the  west  prong. 
Ellicott  appears  to  have  heard  of  this,  but,  quitting  the  river  at  his 
observation  mound,  to  run  his  traverse  line  to  the  beacon  mound, 
he  has  not  laid  it  down  further  than  to  locate  its  mouth.  Imme- 
diately to  the  east  of  the  south  prong  there  is  another  branch  of 
■  the  river,  very  much  of  the  same  description  with  the  Alligator 
swamp,  which  joins  the  St.  Mary's  about  two  miles  below  the  beacon 
mound;  but  the  former  was  reported  to  me,  by  hunters,  to  be  half 
a  mile  wide,  whilst  the  latter,  which  I  explored  fully  myself,  is  not 
much  over  100  yards  at  any  place  where  it  is  two  feet  deep.     These 


80  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

two  cannot  be  called  streams,  having  never  yet  had  current  enough 
to  scoop  out  a  channel  for  themselves.  The  Alligator  was  not  deeper 
than  three  feet  just  above  its  mouth,  when  St.  Mary's  was  nine  feet 
deep  measured  with  a  pole  by  myself,  immediately  above  the  junction. 
There  is  barely  a  perceptible  flow  in  it,  and,  moreover  there  was  no 
where  any  clear  space  of  water  to  be  found  belonging  to  it,  after 
several  days*  reconnoitering,  crossing  and  recrossing,  on  horseback, 
whenever  the  soundness  of  its  bottom  would  allow  of  riding :  for  the 
depth  of  water  was  no  hindrance  any  where.  This  must,  in  1765, 
have  been  considered  as  one  of  the  outlets  of  Okefenoke.  into  St. 
Mary's;  for  it  is,  in  a  manner,  blended  with  the  little  Okefenoke 
which  feeds  the  St.  Mary's  at  its  bend,  about  six  miles  from  the 
mouth,  where  it  comes  from  the  southward,  and  turns  to  the  east. 
Again,  that  branch  of  Suwanee  called  Santafee,  was  reported  by 
the  hunters  of  the  country  to  head  very  close  to  the  lake  out  of  which 
runs  the  south  prong.  We  have,  then,  a  chorographic  fact,  that 
the  space  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  which  furnishes  rain  water 
to  supply  that  lake,  out  of  which  the  south  prong  flows,  is  very 
narrow  indeed,  absolutely  limited  on  one  side  to  two  miles,  and  very 
little  more  on  anjT  other;  while  the  true  St.  Mary's  has  a  region  of 
many  hundred  square  miles,  from  Satilla  to  Suwanee,  tributary  to 
its  head  only;  and  its  inundations  are  great,  as  Elicott  testifies, 
although  by  no  means  in  proportion  to  such  a  space.  A  botanical  fact 
explains  that  anomaly.  All  the  marshes  which  supply  the  true  St. 
Mary's  produce,  in  great  quantity,  those  "herbal  ramosse  palustes"  of 
the  sphagnum  genus,  which  form  peat  bogs  in  Scotland  and  Ireland. 
The  growth  is  sixfold  more  luxuriant  here  than  there  in  height;  yet 
they  do  not  show  any  thing  like  the  same  accumulation  of  debris  as 
in  the  case  of  the  peat  moss.  Those  plants  furnish  a  substance  in- 
soluble in  water,  as  is  well  known.  The  plain  of  the  St.  Mary's  has 
been  gradually  elevated  by  that  vegetable  production ;  its  swamps  are 
now  more  extensive  than  they  once  were ;  and  the  loss  of  water  it  sus- 
tains by  evaporation  is  manifold  greater  than  formerly,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  manifest  encroachment  of  the  sphagnose  marshes  upon 
the  dry  palmetto  flats.  Whoever  reconnoitres  on  horseback,  dili- 
gently, will  acknowledge  this  to  be  the  fact,  not  theory.  But  it  is 
entirely  different  in  the  lakes  of  that  country.  The  "herbse  submersae 
vado  aflixae,"  and  the  "herbse  aquatiles  libera?"  aquis  innatantes,  are 
readily  soluble  in  water:  for  they  are  little  more  than  a  watery, 
parerchymatous  substance,  notwithstanding  all  the  wonders  of  vege- 
tation offered  to  the  view  by  valemenia  and  stratiotes,  rising  to  the 
surface,  as  in  lake  Jackson,  in  places  where  a  ship  of  the  line  could 
float.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  is  further 
south,  from  that  cause,  now,  than  it  was  in  1765,  when  the  Provincial 
Assembly  thought  a  due  west  line  from  it  would  strike  the  mouth  of 
Flint.  It  seems  almost  certain  that  the  river  receives  less  water  in  its 
channel  near  the  beacon  mound,  than  it  once  did.  The  question,  where 
is  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  line,  was  probably  much  easier  to  settle 
then,  than  it  is  likely  to  be  now.  But  the  provision  made  in  the  treaty 
between  Spain  and  the  United  States,  of  October,  1795,  was  known 
to  Georgia.  Ellicott  was  appointed  before  that  year  expired,  and  his 
report  was  not  made  until  May  or  June,  1800.  The  General  Govern- 
ment, having  exclusively  the  foreign  relations,  of  course  made  the 
arrangement  with  Spain,  and  Georgia  was  satisfied  with  the  arbiter 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  81 

during  four  years7  continuance  of  his  functions,  and  with  the  award 
for  twenty-seven  years:  nineteen  years  without  any  investigation  on 
their  part,  and  nine  years  after  one  made  through  the  agency  of  three 
of  their  first  citizens,  to  whose  minds  the  idea  of  shifting  the  name 
of  St.  Mary's,  from  a  stream  that  had  always  borne  it  to  another,  did 
not  occur. 

"The  authorities  of  Georgia,  so  far,  and  so  long,  too,  had  ratified 
the  conclusion  made  with  Spain,  and  Florida,  being  completely  the 
successor  of  Spain,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  surveying  the  lands  now, 
as  proposed,  would  be,  in  that  view,  no  less  arbitrary  and  violent  than 
an  invasion  of  the  Spanish  territory,  with  the  design  to  take  posses- 
sion, would  have  been  formerly. 

"The  Government  of  the  United  States  cannot  surrender  the  ter- 
ritory of  a  State ;  but,  when  the  claim  of  a  State  to  such  territory  has 
been  disputed,  and  the  dispute  settled  with  the  approbation  of  the 
State,  must  that  Government  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  saying  to 
the  foreign  sovereignty,  you  must  send  an  armed  force  yourself  to 
fulfil  the  award:  we  have  no  power  to  do  it :  it  is  a  case  in  which  the 
supreme  law  of  the  land  cannot  be  put  in  execution  bv  our  author- 
ity?" 


Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  docu- 
ments relative  to  the  boundary  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida. 

To  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 

Washington,  March  3(7,  1828. 
I  transmit  to  the  House  of  Representatives  a  report  from  the  Sec- 
retary of  State,  with  documents  containing  the  instructions  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  to  Thomas  Pinckney,  under  which 
was  negotiated  the  treaty  of  San  Lorenzo  el  Real,  and  relating  to  the 
boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and  the  dominions,  at  that 
time,  of  Spain,  as  requested  by  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  the  18th 
ultimo. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS. 


Department  of  State, 

Washington  February  29,  1828. 

The  Secretary  of  State,  to  whom  has  been  referred  a  resolution  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  of  the  18th  instant,  requesting  the 
President  to  communicate  to  the  House  copies  of  the  instructions  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  given  to  Thomas  Pinckney,  its 
Minister  in  Spain,  in  pursuance  of  which  the  treaty  of  San  Lorenzo 
el  Real  was  entered  into  by  said  Minister  with  the  Government  of 
Spain,  so  far  as  said  instructions  relate  to  the  designation  of  the 
dividing  line  between  the  territories  of  Spain  and  the  United  States, 
has  the  honor  to  submit  to  the  President  the  accompanying  extracts : 
the  first  from  a  letter  of  instructions  from  Mr.  Edmund  Randolph, 
then  Secretary  of  State,  under  date  the  28th  November,  1794,  to 
Mr.  Thomas  Pinckney,  appointed  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Spain ; 
and  the  other,  from  a  report  referred  to  therein  which,  comprehend 
the  particular  instructions  required  by  the  resolution  of  the  House. 

All  which  is  respect fulllv  submitted. 

H.  CLAY. 


82  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

Extract  from  instructions  of  Edmund  Randolph,  Secretary  of  State, 
to  Thomas  Pihckney,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States 
at  Madrid,  dated  November  28th.  1794. 

"Your  powers  inform  you,  in  general  terms,  of  the  subjects  with 
which  you  are  charged.  The  development  of  the  principles  upon 
which  they  are  to  be  contended  for  will  be  found  in  the  documents 
of  which  Mr.  Short  is  possessed.  But,  for  the  sake  of  enabling  you 
to  avail  yourself  of  every  opportunity,  before  you  reach  Madrid,  I 
send  a  statement  of  our  pretensions  as  they  were  laid  before  Con- 
gress, comprehending  Mr.  Jay's  discussions  with  Mr.  Gardoqui,  and 
the  instructions  and  arguments  transmitted  to  Messrs.  Carmichael 
and  Short.    In  these,  the  President  sees  no  reason  for  a  change." 


Extract  from  instructions  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State,  to 
Messrs.  Carmichael  and  Short,  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  to  Madrid, 
dated  March  18,  1792. 

"  The  President  having  thought  proper  to  appoint  you  joint  Com- 
missioners Plenipotentiary  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  to  treat 
with  the  Court  of  Madrid  on  the  subjects  of  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  arrangements  on  our  limits  and  commerce,  you  will,  here- 
with, receive  your  commission ;  as,  also,  observations  on  these  several 
subjects  reported  to  the  President,  and  approved  by  him,  which  will, 
therefore,  serve  as  instructions  for  you.  These  expressing  minutely 
the  sense  of  our  Government,  and  what  they  wish  to  have  done,  it 
is  unnecessary  for  me  to  do  more  here  than  desire  you  to  pursue  these 
objects  unremittingly,  and  endeavor  to  bring  them  to  an  issue  in  the 
course  of  the  ensuing  summer." 


Extract  from  a  report  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State,  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  dated  18th  March,  1792. 

"  The  appointment  of  Mr.  Carmichael  and  Mr.  Short  as  commis- 
sioners to  negotiate  with  the  Court  of  Spain,  a  treaty  or  convention 
relative  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  which,  perhaps,  may 
be  extended  to  other  interests,  rendering  it  necessary  that  the  subjects 
to  be  treated  of  should  be  developed,  and  the  conditions  of  arrange- 
ment explained,  the  Secretary  of  State  reports  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States  the  following" observations  on  the  subjects  of  negotia- 
tion between  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  Court  of  Spain, 
to  be  communicated,  by  way  of  instructions,  to  the  Commissioners  of 
the  United  States,  appointed  as  before  mentioned,  to  manage  that 
negotiation.     These  subjects  are— 

1.  Boundary. 

2.  The  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 

3.  Commerce. 

I.  As  to  boundary,  that  between  Georgia  and  Florida  is  the  only 
one  which  will  need  any  explanation.  Spain  sets  up  a  claim  to  pos- 
sessions within  the  State  of  Georgia,  founded  on  her  having  rescued 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  83 

them  by  force  from  the  British  (luring  the  late  war.  The  following 
view  of  that  subject  seems  to  admit  no  reply. 

The  several  States  now  composing  the  United  States  of  America 
were,  from  their  first  establishment,  separate  and  distinct  societies, 
dependent  on  no  other  society  of  men  whatever;  they  continued  at  the 
head  of  their  respective  Governments  the  Executive  Magistrate  who 
presided  over  the  one  they  had  left,  and  thereby  secured,  in  effect,  a 
constant  amity  with  the  nation.  In  this  stage  of  their  Government, 
their  several  boundaries  were  fixed ;  and  particularly  the  southern 
boundary  of  Georgia,  the  only  one  now  in  question,  was  established 
at  the  31st  degree  of  latitude  from  the  Apalachicola,  westwardly; 
and  the  western  boundary,  originally  the  Pacific  Ocean,  was,  by  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  reduced  to  the  middle  of  the  Mississippi.  The  part 
which  our  Chief  Magistrate  took,  in  a  war  waged  against  us  by  the 
nation  among  whom  he  resided,  obliged  us  to  discontinue  him,  and 
to  name  one  within  every  State.  In  the  course  of  this  war,  we  were 
joined  by  France  as  an  ally,  and  by  Spain  and  Holland  as  associates, 
having  a  common  enemy :  each  sought  that  common  enemy  wherever 
they  could  find  him.  France,  on  our  invitation,  landed  a  large  army 
within  our  territories,  continued  it  with  us  two  years,  and  aided  us  in 
recovering  sundry  places  from  the  possession  of  the  enemy;  but  she 
did  not  pretend  to  keep  possession  of  the  places  rescued.  Spain 
entered  into  the  remote  western  part  of  our  territory,  dislodged  the 
common  enemy  from  several  posts  they  held  therein,  to  the  annoyance 
of  Spain,  and  perhaps  thought  it  necessary  to  remain  in  some  of  them, 
as  the  only  means  of  preventing  their  return.  We,  in  like  manner, 
dislodged  them  from  several  posts  in  the  same  western  territory,  to 
wit:  Vincennes,  Cahokia,  Caskaskia,  &c,  rescued  the  inhabitatnts, 
and  retained  constantly  afterwards  both  them  and  the  territory  under 
our  possession  and  government.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  Great 
Britain,  on  the  30th  of  November,  1782,  by  treaty,  acknowledged  our 
independence  and  our  boundary  5  to  wit :  the  Mississippi  to  the  west, 
and  the  completion  of  the  31st  degree,  &c.  to  the  south.  In  her  treaty 
with  Spain,  concluded  seven  weeks  afterwards,  to  wit :  January  20th, 
1783,  she  ceded  to  her  the  two  Floridas  (which  had  been  defined  in  the 
proclamation  of  1763)  and  Minorca;  and,  by  the  8th  article  of  the 
treaty.  Spain  agreed  to  restore,  without  compensation,  all  the  terri- 
tories conquered  by  her,  and  not  included  in  the  treaty,  either  under 
the  head  of  cessions  or  restitutions,  that  is  to  say,  all  except  Minorca 
and  the  Floridas.  According  to  this  stipulation,  Spain  was  expressly 
bound  to  have  delivered  up  the  possessions  she  had  taken-  within  the 
limits  of  Georgia  to  Great  Britain,  if  they  were  conquests  on  Great 
Britain,  who  was  to  deliver  them  over  to  the  United  States;  or  rather 
she  should  have  delivered  them  to  the  United  States  themselves,  as 
standing,  quoad  hoc,  in  the  place  of  Great  Britain ;  and  she  was  bound, 
by  natural  right,  to  deliver  them  to  the  same  United  States,  on  a  much 
stronger  ground,  as  the  real  and  only  proprietors  of  those  places 
which  she  had  taken  possession  of,  in  a  moment  of  danger,  without 
having  had  any  cause  of  war  with  the  United  States,  to  whom  they 
belonged,  and  without  having  declared  any;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
conducting  herself,  in  other  respects,  as  a  friend  and  associate.  Vat- 
tel,  1.  3.  122. 

It  is  an  established  principle,  that  conquest  gives  only  an  inchoate 
ricrht,  which  does  not  become  perfect  till  confirmed  by  the  treaty  of 


84  [Doc  No.  43.] 

peace,  and  by  a  renunciation  or  abandonment  by  the  former  pro- 
prietor. Had  Great  Britain  been  that  former  proprietor,  she  was  so 
far  from  confirming  to  Spain  the  right  to  the  territory  of  Georgia 
invaded  by  Spain,  that  she  expressly  relinquished  to  the  United  States 
any  right  that  might  remain  in  her.  and  afterwards  completed  that 
relinquishment,  by  procuring,  and  consolidating  with  it.  the  agree- 
ment of  Spain  herself  to  restore  such  territory,  without  compensation. 
It  is  still  more  palpable,  that  a  war  existing  between  two  nations, 
as  Spain  and  Great  Britain,  could  give  to  neither  the  right  to  seize 
and  appropriate  the  territory  of  a  third,  which  is  even  neutral,  much 
less  which  is  an  associate  in  the  war.  as  the  United  States  were  with 
Spain.  See,  on  this  subject,  Grotius,  1.  3.  c.  6  §  26 ;  Puffend..  1,  8,  c. 
6,  §  IT,  23 ;  Vattel,  1.  3,  §  197,  198. 

On  the  conclusion  of  the  general  peace,  the  United  States  lost  no 
time  in  requiring  from  Spain  an  evacuation  of  their  territory;  that  it 
has  been  hitherto  delayed,  by  means  which  we  need  not  explain  to  that 
Court,  but  which  have  been  equally  contrary  to  our  right  and  to  our 
consent. 

Should  Spain  pretend,  as  has  been  intimated,  that  there  was  a  secret 
article  of  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  agree- 
ing, if,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  the  latter  should  retain  the  Floridas, 
that  then  the  southern  boundary  of  Georgia  should  be  the  completion 
of  the  32d  degree  of  north  latitude,  the  Commissioners  may  safely 
deny  all  knowledge  of  the  fact,  and  refuse  conference  on  any  such 
postulatum:  or  should  they  find  it  necessary  to  enter  into  argument 
on  the  subject,  they  will,  of  course,  do  it  hypothetically,  and.  in  that 
way.  may  justly  say,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States.  "  Suppose 
that  the  United  States,  exhausted  by  a  bloody  and  expensive  war 
with  Great  Britain,  might  have  been  willing  to  have  purchased  peace 
by  relinquishing,  under  a  particular  contingency,  a  small  part  of  their 
territory,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  same  United  States,  recruited 
and  better  organized,  must  relinquish  the  same  territory  to  Spain, 
without  striking  a  blow.  The  United  States,  too,  have  irrevocably 
put  it  out  of  their  power  to  do  it  by  a  new  Constitution,  which  guar- 
anties every  State  against  the  invasion  of  its  territory.  A  disastrous 
war.  indeed,  might,  by  necessity,  supersede  this  stipulation,  (as  neces- 
sity is  above  all  law,)  and  oblige  them  to  abandon  a  part  of  a  State: 
but  nothing  short  of  this  can  justify  or  obtain  such  an  abandonment." 

The  southern  limits  of  Georgia  depend  chiefly  on, 

1st.  The  charter  of  Carolina  to  the  lords  proprietors,  in  1663,  ex- 
tending southwardly  to  the  river  Matheo,  now  called  St.  John's,  sup- 
posed in  the  charter  to  be  in  latitude  31°,  and  so  west,  in  a  direct  line, 
as  far  as  the  South  Sea. 

2d.«  On  the  proclamation  of  the  British  King,  in  1763,  establishing 
the  boundary  between  Georgia  and  the  two  Floridas.  to  begin  on  the 
Mississippi,  in  31°  of  lat.  north  of  the  equator,  and  running  east- 
warly  to  the  Apalachicola ;  thence,  along  the  said  river,  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Flint :  thence,  in  a  direct  line,  to  the  source  of  the  St.  Mary's 
river,  and  down  the  same  to  the  ocean.  This  proclamation  will  be 
found  in  Postlethwayte  voce.    "  British  America." 

3d.  On  the  treaties  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
of  November  30.  1782.  and  September  3.  1783.  repeating  and  con- 
firming these  ancient  boundaries. 

There  was  an  intermediate  transaction,  to  wit.  a  convention  con- 
cluded at  the  Pardo.  in  1739.  whereby  it  was  agreed  that  Ministers 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  „  85 

Plenipotentiary  should  be  immediately  appointed  by  Spain  and 
Great  Britain,  for  settling  the  limits  of  Florida  and  Carolina.  The 
convention  is  to  be  found  in  the  collections  of  treaties ;  but  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Plenipotentiaries  are  unknown  here.  Qu.  If  it  was 
on  that  occasion  that  the  southern  boundary  of  Carolina  was  trans- 
ferred from  the  latitude  of  Matheo,  or  St.  John's  river,  further  north 
to  the  St.  Mary's?  or  was  it  the  proclamation  of  1763,  which  first 
removed  this  boundary?  [If  the  commissioners  can  procure,  in 
Spain,  a  copy  of  whatever  was  agreed  on  in  consequence  of  the  con- 
vention of  the  Pardo,  it  is  a  desirable  State  paper  here.] 

To  this  demonstration  of  our  rights,  may  be  added  the  explicit 
declaration  of  the  Court  of  Spain,  that  she  would  accede  to  them. 
This  took  place  in  conversations  and  correspondence  thereon  between 
Mr.  Jay,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  for  the  United  States  at  the  Court 
of  Madrid,  the  Marquis  de  Lafayette,  and  the  Count  de  Florida 
Blanca.  Monsieur  de  Lafayette,  in  his  letter  of  February  19,  1783, 
to  the  Count  de  Florida  Blanca.  states  the  resul  of  their  conversa- 
tions on  limits,  in  these  words :  "  with  respect  to  limits,  his  Catholic 
Majesty  has  adopted  those  that  are  deermined  by  the  preliminaries 
of  the  30th  of  November,  between  the  United  States  and  the  Court 
of  London."  The  Count  de  Florida  Blanca,  in  his  answer  of  Febru- 
ary 22d,  to  M.  de  Lafayette  says  "  although  it  is  his  Majesty's  inten- 
tion to  abide,  for  the  present,  by  the  limits  established  by  the  treaty 
of  the  30th  of  November,  1782,  between  the  English  and  the  Ameri- 
cans, the  King  intends  to  inform  himself,  particularly,  whether  it 
can  be,  in  any  ways,  inconvenient  or  prejudicial,  to  settle  that  affair 
amicably  with  the  United  States."  And  M.  de  Lafayette,  in  his  let- 
ter of  the  same  day.  to  Mr.  Jay,  wherein  he  had  inserted  the  preced- 
ing, says,  "  on  receiving  the  answer  of  the  Count  Florida  Blanca.  (to 
wit :  his  answer,  before  mentioned,  to  M.  de  Lafayette,)  I  desired 
an  explanation  respecting  the  addition  that  relates  to  the  limits.  I 
was  answered,  that  it  was  a  fixed  principle  to  abide  by  the  limits 
established  by  the  treaty  between  the  English  and  the  Americans: 
that  his  remark  related  only  to  mere  unimportant  details,  which  he 
wished  to  receive  from  the  Spanish  commandants,  which  would  be 
amicably  regulated,  and  would  by  no  means  oppose  the  general  prin- 
ciple. I  asked  him.  before  the  Ambassador  of  France.  (M.  de  Mont- 
morin,)  whether  he  would  give  me  his  word  of  honor  for  it?  he 
assured  me  he  would,  and  that  /  might  engage  it  to  the  United 
States:' 


Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, to  which  was  referred  the  message  of  the  President,  of 
the  22<#  January,  1828,  transmitting  copies  of  communications 
from  the  Governor  of  Georgia,  relating  to  the  line  dividing  that 
State  from  the  Territory  of  Florida,— M  arch  21,  1828. 

The  correspondence  between  the  President  and  the  Governor  of 
Georgia,  thus  referred  to  the  committee,  presents  the  question,  "What 
is  the  correct  boundary  between  that  State  and  the  Territory  of 
Florida?  To  enable  the  House  to  decide  this  question,  the  com- 
mittee beg  leave  to  present  to  their  consideration  a  condensed  view 
of  the  evidence  in  relation  to  it. 


86  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

The  charter  of  Carolina  to  the  lords  proprietors,  in  1663,  extended 
southwardly  to  the  river  Matheo,  now  called  St.  John's,  supposed 
in  the  charter  to  be  in  latitude  31°.  and  so  west,  in  a  direct  line,  as  far 
as  the  South  Sea. 

It  appears,  by  an  extract  from  the  charter  of  Georgia,  in  1732, 
that  the  boundaries  were  '*  all  those  lands,  countries,  and  territories, 
situate,  lying,  and  being  in  that  part  of  South  Carolina,  in  America, 
which  lies  from  the  northern  stream  of  a  river,  commonly  called  the 
Savannah,  all  along  the  sea  coast  to  the  southward,  unto  the  most 
southern  stream  of  a  certain  other  great  water  or  river,  called  the 
Alatamaha,  and  westward  from  the  heads  of  the  said  rivers,  re- 
spectively, in  a  direct  line,  to  the  South  Seas."  Before  the  date  of 
this  charter  to  Georgia,  by  a  second  charter  to  Carolina,  in  1667,  its 
limits  had  been  extended  south  and  westward,  as  far  as  the  degree  of 
twenty-nine,  inclusive,  of  northern  latitude.  The  Government  of 
Carolina,  having  been,  in  its  origin,  a  proprietary  one,  was,  in  1729, 
surrendered  by  seven  out  of  eight  of  the  proprietors,  and  afterwards 
by  the  eighth,  and  then  became  a  regal  one:  and  the  province  was 
divided  into  the  two  Governments  of  North  and  South  Carolina. 
The  order  of  Council  making  this  division,  and  fixing  the  boundaries, 
is  not  accessible  to  the  committee,  nor  is  it  deemed  material. 

The  trustees  of  Georgia,  in  1752,  surrendered  the  whole  territory 
to  the  King,  and  the  government  was  afterwards  entirely  regal. 

The  King  by  a  proclamation  of  the  7th  October,  1763,  annexed  to 
the  Province  of  Georgia  all  the  lands  lying  between  the  rivers  Alata- 
maha and  St.  Mary's,  and  by  his  commission  to  Governor  Wright,  of 
the  20th  January,  1764,  declares  the  boundaries  to  be  on  the  north 
by  the  most  northern  stream  of  a  river,  there  commonly  called 
Savannah,  as  far  as  the  head  of  said  river,  and  from  thence,  west- 
ward, as  far  as  our  territories  extend;  on  the  east  by  the  sea  coast, 
from  said  river  Savannah,  to  the  most  southern  stream  of  a  certain 
other  river  called  St.  Mary,  including  all  islands  within  twenty 
leagues  of  the  coast  lying  between  the  rivers  Savannah  and  St. 
Mary,  as  far  as  the  head  thereof ;  and  from  thence,  westward,  as  far 
as  our  territories  extend,  by  the  north  boundary  line  of  our  Prov- 
inces of  East  and  West  Florida. 

By  the  treaty  of  peace,  in  1783,  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States  is  thus  de- 
scribed: "  South  by  a  line,  to  be  drawn  due  east  from  the  determina- 
tion of  the  line  last  mentioned,  in  the  latitude  of  thirty-one  degrees 
north  of  the  equator,  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola  or  Chat- 
tahoochie;  thence,  along  the  middle  thereof,  to  its  junction  with  the 
Flint  river;  thence,  straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river;  and 
thence,  down  along  the  middle  of  St.  Mary's  river,  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean." 

By  the  proclamation  of  1763,  before  referred  to,  the  King  had  de- 
clared that  part  of  the  northern  boundary  of  East  Florida  which  is 
now  the  subject  of  inquiry  to  be  as  follows,  viz:  To  the  northward 
by  a  line  drawn  from  that  part  of  said  river  (Apalachicola)  where 
the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  river-  meet,  to  the  source  of  St.  Mary's, 
and.  by  the  course  of  the  said  river,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Spain 
having  obtained  from  Great  Britain  a  cession  of  the  Floridas.  with- 
out, as  is  believed,  any  description  of  limits,  but  with  a  knowledge  of 
the  provisional  treaty  of  November.  1782,  and  under  what  were  the 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  87 

boundaries  of  those  Provinces  in  the  hands  of  Great  Britain,  sonic 
difficult}7  arose  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  in  relation  to 
this  boundary,  which  led  to  the  treaty  of  27th  of  October,  1795,  com- 
monly called  the  treaty  of  San  Lorenzo  el  Real;  by  the  second  article 
in  which,  it  was  agreed  that  the  boundary  line  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Floridas  shall  be  designated  by  a  line,  beginning  on 
the  river  Mississippi,  at  the  northernmost  part  of  the  31st  degree  of 
latitude  north  of  the  equator,  which  from  thence  shall  be  drawn  due 
east  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola,  or  Chattahoochie ;  thence, 
along  the  middle  thereof,  to  its  junction  with  the  Flint;  thence, 
straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river;  and  thence,  down  the  middle 
thereof,  to  the  Atlantic  ocean. 

It  was  provided  by  the  3d  article  of  that  treaty,  that  a  commis- 
sioner and  surveyor,  to  be  appointed  by  each  of  the  contracting 
parties,  should  run  and  mark  the  boundary,  according  to  the  stipula- 
tions of  the  2d  article,  above  recited.  It  was  further  stipulated,  that 
they  should  make  plats,  and  keep  journals  of  their  proceedings,  which 
should  be  considered  as  part  of  the  convention,  and  have  the  same 
force  as  if  they  were  inserted  therein.  In  conformity  with  this  stip- 
ulation, Andrew  Ellicott  was  appointed  commissioner,  and  Thomas 
Freeman  surveyor  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  for  the  purpose 
of  running  the  line  mentioned  in  the  2d  article.  This  appointment 
was  made  in  May,  1796.  It  appears  from  a  letter  of  the  commis- 
sioner, dated  22d  March,  1800,  to  the  then  Secretary  of  State,  that  a 
report  of  what  had  been  done  would  soon  be  completed,  but  that  re- 
port, if  made,  is  not  now,  as  far  as  the  committee  are  informed,  to 
be  found.  It  appears  from  the  same  letter,  that  our  commissioner 
experienced  great  difficulty  and  embarrassment  in  the  execution  of 
the  duty  assigned  to  him,  from  the  Indians,  and  he  intimates  at  the 
instigation  of  others.  The  journal  of  Ellicott  was  published  in  1803. 
It  appears  that  the  commissioners  did  not  run  and  mark  the  line  from 
the  junction  of  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers  to  the  head  of  St. 
Mary's ;  but  they  designated  a  point,  which  should  be  taken  as  the  one 
to  or  near  which  a  line  should  be  drawn  from  Flint  river,  which, 
when  drawn,  was  to  be  final;  provided,  it  passed  not  less  than  one 
mile  north  of  a  certain  mound,  erected  by  them;  but  if,  on  experi- 
ment, it  should  be  found  to  pass  within  less  than  a  mile  north  of  said 
mound,  it  should  be  corrected  to  carry  it  to  that  distance.  This 
mound  is  near  the  Okefenoke  Swamp.  It  appears  from  a  report  of 
John  McBride,  a  surveyor,  appointed  by  Georgia  in  the  year  1827, 
that  there  is  a  stream,  called  by  him  the  south  branch  of  the  St. 
Mary's,  much  farther  south  than  the  one  considered  the  head  branch 
of  that  river  by  the  American  and  Spanish  commissioners;  and  he 
says,  that  both  its  length,  its  volume  of  water,  and  general  direction, 
coincide  in  favor  of  the  south  branch.  It  appears,  by  a  document 
referred  to  as  part  of  this  report,  marked  A.  that,  under  a  resolution 
of  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  1818,  the  Governor  of  that  State  ap- 
pointed commissioners  to  examine  and  report  whether  Ellicott's 
mound  was  the  true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's;  and  from  the  letter  of 
the  Governor,  in  1819,  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  it  appears  that  the 
commissioners  had  reported  that,  after  a  careful  examination,  they 
found  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  to  agree  with  the  report  made  by  Mr. 
Ellicott.     Two  of  the  commissioners,  in  a  paper  referred  to  as  part  of 


88  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

this  report,  marked  B,  think  it  probable  that  they  may  have  been  mis- 
led by  their  guide — assigning  as  the  reasons  of  that  impression,  1st, 
that  they  recollect  to  have  seen  what  appeared  to  them,  through  thick 
brush  wood,  to  be  a  lively  little  stream,  emptying  in  through  the 
opposite  or  right  bank  of  the  southern  or  middle  fork  of  the  St. 
Mary's;  which,  being  pointed  out  to  the  pilot,  he  replied  that  the 
branch  they  were  pursuing  was  the  right  one ;  and,  2d,  by  the  repre- 
sentation given  by  the  survey  of  McBride.  After  this  review  of  the 
evidence,  it  will  be  seen  by  the  House  that  the  question  is,  What  is 
the  head  or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  \  for  the  other  end  of  the  line,  to 
wit :  the  junction  of  the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers,  being  uncon- 
tested, so  soon  as  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  is  ascertained,  all  diffi- 
culty ceases  as  to  the  boundary.  The  committee  are  of  opinion,  upon 
the  whole  view  of  the  case,  that  the  point  designated  by  the  American 
and  Spanish  commissioners  ought  to  be  considered  as  the  head  of  St. 
Mary's.  They  consider  the  solution  of  the  question  to  depend  on 
this,  which  stream  is  to  be  considered  the  true  St.  Mary's  river,  ac- 
cording to  reputation,  and  the  understanding  and  acquiescence  of  the 
parties  concerned.  As  far  back  as  1800.  the  commissioners  of  the  two 
Governments  considered,  upon  examination,  what  is  now  called  the 
north  branch  as  the  St.  Mary's;  and  the  Georgia  commissioners,  in 
1819,  concur  with  Mr.  Ellicott  as  to  the  head  of  that  river;  although 
another  river  unites  with  this,  which  vents  more  water,  and  is  longer, 
yet,  if  it  were  not  called  or  known  by  the  name  of  St.  Mary's,  these 
circumstances  would  not  alter  the  case.  The  committee  infer  that  it 
was  not  so  called  or  known  from  these  circumstances;  1st,  that  the 
commissioners  of  two  Governments  were  appointed  to  settle  and  de- 
cide a  contested  question  of  boundary :  to  do  this,  the  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  being  one  of  the  termini,  it  became  their  duty  to  seek  for  in- 
formation from  every  source,  accessible  to  them,  as  to  which  stream 
was  the  St.  Mary's,  and  what  was  its  head.  Having  fixed  upon  a 
particular  stream,  as  being  the  true  river,  and  designated  a  point  as 
its  source,  and  this  being  matter  of  notoriety.  Georgia  acquiesced, 
without  objection,  as  far  as  the  committee  are  informed,  till  1818; 
and  then  the  report  of  their  own  commissioners  coincided  with  Elli- 
cott's  designation,  and  that,  too,  though  they  had  a>  their  pilot,  as  the 
committee  believe,  the  very  person  on  whose  suggestion  they  had 
been  appointed.  In  this  report,  Georgia  acquiesced,  as  far  as  the 
committee  is  informed,  until  recently.  As  far  as  the  nature  of  this 
unsettled  country  will  admit  of  reputation  as  to  the  names  of  its 
streams,  these  facts  may  be  considered  as  probably  the  best  evidence 
which  was  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  the  head  of  that  river,  as  in- 
tended in  the  several  State  papers  above  recited.  There  is  an  ex- 
ample mentioned  in  one  of  the  printed  documents,  which  will  illus- 
trate the  idea  of  the  committee.  It  is  now  believed  to  be  a  geo- 
graphical fact,  that  the  Missouri  is  a  longer  stream  than  the.  Mis- 
sissippi, and  we  believe  vents  more  water;  and  yet,  as  it  never  has 
been  called  by  the  name  of  Mississippi,  if  we  were  now  called  upon 
to  decide  what  was  the  head  of  the  Mississippi,  we  should  take,  not 
the  source  of  the  Missouri,  though  it  unites  with  the  other  stream, 
but  the  source  of  what  is,  and  has  been  called  the  Mississippi.  It  is 
not  intended  to  say  that  the  case  in  question  is  as  palpable ;  but.  after 
settling  the  principle,  that,  in  ascertaining  the  head  of  a  stream  of  a 
given  name,  we  must  inquire  where  two  streams  unite,  not  which  is 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  89 

the  longest,  or  vents  the  most  water,  but  which  has  been  called  and 
known  by  the  given  name,  we  are  then  to  decide,  upon  the  best  evi- 
dence in  our  power,  as  to  that  fact;  and  we  think  the  evidence  is  in 
favor  of  the  stream  designated  by  Ellicott. 

Ri  solved,  therefore,  as  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  that,  in  run- 
ning the  boundary  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida,  the  point  desig- 
nated by  the  commissioners  under  the  3d  article  of  the  treaty  of  1795. 
between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  ought  to  be  the  termination  of 
the  line  from  the  junction  of  the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers. 


(A.) 


Tx  Senate,  \-2fh  December,  1818. 

I^ ,<ul red.  That  his  Excellency  the  Governor  be  requested  to  ap- 
point two  fit  and  proper  persons  to  proceed,  without  delay,  to  ascer- 
tain the  true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river;  and,  if  it  shall  appear 
that  the  mound  thrown  up  by  Mr.  Ellicott  and  the  Spanish  deputa- 
tion is  not  at  the  place  set  forth  in  the  treaty  with  Spain,  that  they 
make  a  special  report  of  the  facts  to  the  Governor,  who  shall  there- 
upon communicate  the  same  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
accompanied  with  a  request  that  the  lines  may  be  run  agreeable  to 
the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  aforesaid  treaty. 

And  it  is  further  resolved.  That  the  Governor  order  out  a  suitable 
detachment  of  militia  to  protect  the  said  commissioners  in  the  per- 
formance of  their  duty. 

Approved  :  l§th  December,  1819. 


Executive  Department,  Georgia, 
MilledgevUle,  11th  February,  1819. 

Sir  :  I  take  the  liberty  to  call  your  attention  to  the  subject  of  the 
contemplated  line  between  this  State  and  the  Province  of  East 
Florida,  which  you  no  doubt  recollect  is  expected  to  be  run  this 
spring  by  the  General  Government. 

Preparations  are  making  to  commence  surveying  that  section  of 
country  in  a  short  time;  it  is,  therefore,  very  desirable  that  the  line 
should  be  defined  as  early  as  possible. 

The  Legislature  of  this  State,  at  their  late  session,  having  received 
satisfactory  information  that  the  mound  thrown  up  by  Mr.  Ellicott 
and  the  Spanish  deputation,  on  the  Okefenoke  Swamp,  is  not  the 
true  head  of  St.  Mary's  river,  as  contemplated  in  the  treaty  with 
Spain,  directed  me  to  appoint  commissioners  to  ascertain  the  fact. 
and  to  communicate  the  result  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 
with  a  request  that  the  line  might  be  laid  out  agreeably  to  their 
report.  Majors  General  Floyd  and  Thompson,  and  Brigadier  Gen- 
eral Blackshear,  have  been  appointed  to,  and  are  now  engaged  in, 
the  performance  of  that  duty.  Their  report  shall  be  transmitted 
to  you  as  soon  as  I  receive  it. 

I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  head  of  that  river  will  be 
found  at  least  twentv  miles  south  of  the  point  agreed  on  by  Mr. 
Ellicott  and  the  Spanish  commissioner.     Should  this  conjecture  prove 


90  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

to  be  a  fact,  the  State  of  Georgia  will  be  entitled  to  the  land  within 
that  boundary,  according  to  the  treaty  with  Spain.  In  any  event,  it 
is  of  great  importance  that  one  of  those  lines  should  be  completed  as 
soon  as  circumstances  will  justify  the  measure. 

Enclosed.  I  hand  you  a  resolution  of  the  Legislature  on  the  subject. 
With  high  respect.  I  am.  sir. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  RABUN. 
The  Hon.  John  C.  Calhoun, 

Secretary  of  War.  Washington  City. 


Executive  Department,  Georgia, 

Milledgeville.  3d  March,  1819. 
Sir:  On  the  17th  ultimo.  I  had  the  honor  to  address  you  on  the 
subject  of  the  contemplated  line  between  this  State  and  the  Province 
of  East  Florida.  I  stated  that  the  Legislature  of  this  State  had 
directed  me  to  appoint  commissioners  to  ascertain  the  true  head  or 
source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  I  promised  to  forward  their  re- 
port to  you  as  soon  as  the  same  was  received.  The  commissioners 
have- returned,  and  reported,  that,  after  a  careful  examination,  they 
found  the  head  of  that  river  to  agree  with  the  report  made  by  .Mr. 
Ellicott,  and  prove,  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  that  the  informa- 
tion received  by  the  Legislature  of  this  State  relative  to  that  subject 
was  incorrect.  I  flatter  myself  that  directions  will  be  forwarded  to 
Mr.  Lumpkin  immediately  to  close  that  line,  according  to  the  treaty 
with  Spain.  And,  if  the  General  Government  can  afford  us  assist- 
ance in  guarding  the  surveyors  who  will  be  engaged  in  laying  out 
the  country,  it  will  be  acknowledged  as  a  great  accommodation. 
I  am,  with  high  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  RABUN. 
Hon.  J.  C.  Calhoun, 

/Secretary  of  War. 


(B.) 


In  the  year  1817,  Captain  William  Cone,  then  a  member  of  the 
Legislature  of  Georgia,  represented,  on  his  own  knowledge  of  the 
St.  Mary's  river,  that  Mr.  Ellicott  had  mistaken  its  true  head  or 
source ;  and  that  an  accurate  survey  would  establish  the  fact,  that  the 
head  or  source  of  the  middle  fork  or  branch,  (perhaps  then  called  the 
South  Branch,)  which  was  twenty  miles  south  of  Mr.  Ellicott's 
Mound,  would  be  found  to  be  the  true  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river, 
and  therefore  the  true  point  of  demarcation  between  the  State  of 
Georgia  and  the  then  Spanish  province  of  East  Florida.  The  Gov- 
ernor of  Georgia  was  authorized  by  the  Legislature  to  appoint  com- 
missioners to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  facts  alleged  by  Captain 
Cone.  The  undersigned,  with  Brigadier  General  David  Blackshear, 
were  appointed  and  specially  instructed  by  the  Governor  of  Georgia. 
They  employed  Captain  Cone  as  a  pilot,  and.  with  a  competent  sur- 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  91 

veyor,  caused  to  be  measured  (beginning  at  or  near  the  point  des- 
ignated by  Ellicott  as  the  head  of  the  St,  Mary's  river)  the  distance 
from  that  point,  by  the  meanders  of  the  northwest  branch,  to  its  junc- 
tion with  the  stream  or  branch  represented  b}'  Cone  to  be  the  true 
source  of  the  St.  Mary's,  and  up  the  left  bank  of  the  latter  branch, 
until  the  commissioners  reached  an  extensive  swamp,  into  which  the 
pilot,  with  two  of  the  commissioners,  (the  undersigned,)  penetrated 
about  half  a  mile,  and  saw  no  water  or  water  channel.  Captain 
Cone  was  then  directed  by  the  commissioners  to  pass  entirely  across 
the  swamp,  (to  the  pine  barren  beyond  the  swamp,)  who,  on  his  re- 
turn, reported  that  there  was  no  stream  of  water  or  water  channel 
in  the  swamp;  and  that  we  had  reached  the  head  of  the  branch  to 
which  he  had  referred  in  the  information  given  by  him  to  the  Legis- 
lature. On  a  comparison  of  the  length  of  the  two  streams,  it  was 
found  that  the  latter,  from  its  junction  with  the  other  to  the  swamp 
above  referred  to.  was  much  the  shortest:  and  the  commissioners  con- 
sequently reported  in  favor  of  the  former  as  the  head  or  source  of  the 
St.  Mary's  river. 

It  is,  however,  more  than  probable  that  the  commissioners  may  have 
been  misled  by  the  inadvertency  of  Captain  Cone,  who  professed  to 
be  intimately  acquainted  with  the  geography  of  that  part  of  the 
country,  and  on  whom  they  were  instructed  to  rely,  who  may  have 
been  diverted  from  the  principal  stream  by  mistaking  a  branch  of  it. 
And  we  the  undersigned  are  inclined  to  this  belief,  first,  because  we 
recollected  to  have  seen,  a  short  distance  below  the  swamp,  to  which 
we  have  referred,  what  appeared  to  us,  through  thick  brushwood,  to 
be  a  lively  little  stream,  emptying  in  through  the  opposite  or  right 
bank  of  the  southern  or  middle  fork  of  the  St.  Mary's,  which  was 
pointed  out  to  the  pilot:  who  replied,  that  the  branch  we  were  then 
pursuing  was  the  right  one :  and  because  of  the  representation  given 
bv  the  survey  of  McBride.  JOHN  FLOYD, 

WILEY  THOMPSON. 

February  29th,  1828. 


Resolutions  of  the  Legislature  of  Florida  in  relation  to  the  Georgia 
Boundary. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  present  Legislative  Council 
of  Florida,  that  the  sixth  article  of  the  treaty  between  Spain  and  the 
United  States,  of  the  22d  of  February,  1819,  secures  to  the  inhab- 
itants then  occupying,  and  those  who  may  occupy,  the  ceded  Terri- 
tory, as  Spain  held  them  under  the  treaty  of  179a,  an  admission  into 
the  Union,  as  soon  as  it  may  be  consistent  with  the  principles  of  the 
Federal  Constitution:  and  that  any  diminution  of  its  limits,  or  alter- 
ation of  its  lines,  will  be  a  manifest  violation  of  the  supreme  law,  an 
act  of  oppression  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory,  and  of 
injustice  to  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  further.  That  the  Legislative  Council,  representing  the 
people  of  the  ceded  territory,  respectfully,  in  the  name  of  the  said 
people,  protest  against  the  passage  of  any  law  that  will  change  the 
boundary  between  this  Territory  and  Georgia :  and  that  our  delegate 
in  Congress  be  requested  to  continue  his  exertions  in  resisting  the 
43064— S.  Doc.  467,  60-1 9 


92  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

pretensions  now  set  up  by  Georgia  to  fifteen  hundred  thousand  acres 
of  the  land  ceded  by  Spain  to  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  further,  That  commissioners  ought  to  be  appointed,  in 
behalf  of  the  Territory,  to  ascertain  the  true  sources  of  the  St.  Mary's, 
so  that  our  rights  may  be  defended  on  facts,  as  well  as  the  treaty; 
and  to  make  a  report  at  an  early  period  of  the  approaching  session 
of  Congress. 

Be  it  therefore  resolved,  That  the  Governor  appoint  three  fit  and 
discreet  persons,  as  commissioners,  to  carry  the  foregoing  resolutions 
into  effect ;  and  that  any  two  of  them,  provided  the  other  cannot  at- 
tend, are  hereby  empowered  to  act. 

Resolved,  further,  That  our  delegate  be  requested  to  obtain  an 
order  for  ascertaining  the  true  boundary  between  Florida  and  Ala- 
bama, or  the  passage  of  a  law  for  that  object. 

"  Resolved  further,  That  the  said  delegate  be  requested  to  use  his 
exertions  to  remove  the  Florida  Indians  from  this  Territory." 
Adopted  this  23d   November,   1828. 

THOS.  MUNROE, 
Clerk  Legislative  Council,  Florida. 


Report  to,  and  resolution  of,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Georgia, 
in  relation  to  running  and  fixing  the  boundary  line  between  the 
said  State  and  the  Territory  of  Florida. 

Executive  Department,  Georgia, 

December  26,  1828. 
Gentlemen  :  I  transmit  the  enclosed  report  and  resolutions,  agree- 
ably to  the  wishes  of  the  General  Assembly. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  FORSYTH. 
The  Hon.  the  Representatives  from,  Georgia, 

in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  Washington  City. 


The  Joint  Committee  on  the  state  of  the  Republic,  to  whom  was  re- 
ferred that  part  of  the  Governor '«  communication  which  relates  to 
the  dividing  line  between  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida, 
have  had  the  same  under  consideration,  together  with  the  accom- 
panying documents,  and,  after  an  attentive  examination  of  the 
subject,  report: 

That  the  Executive,  conformably  to  the  resolution  of  the  last  ses- 
sion, caused  the  report  then  made  to  be  laid  before  Congress,  and,  in 
further  compliance  with  the  request  of  the  Legislature,  opened  a  cor- 
respondence with  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  which  the 
claims  of  Georgia  to  her  legitimate  and  constitutional  boundary 
were  zealously  and  ably  asserted.  The  report  made  to  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  by  the  judicial  committee,  recommended  the 
postponement  of  the  subject  until  the  ensuing  session.  That  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  was  drawn  to  a  more  definite  conclusion, 
by  resolving,  "  as  the  opinion  of  the  committee,  that,  in  running  the 
boundary  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida,  the  point  designated  by 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  93 

the  commissioners  under  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of  1795,  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Spain,  ought  to  be  the  termination  of  the 
line  from  the  junction  of  the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers."  This 
report  was  not  acted  upon;  the  subject,  consequently,  is  yet  to  be 
discussed  and  decided.  Your  committee,  reposing  full  confidence 
in  the  General  Government,  and  deeply  sensible  of  the  inviolability 
of  Georgia's  claim,  cannot  but  express  their  disappointment  that 
the  committee  should,  upon  the  evidence  before  it,  have  hesitated 
to  recommend  the  repeal  of  the  act  of  Congress  of  1826,  or  such  a 
modification  of  it  as  would  have  enabled  the  President  to  empower 
commissioners,  in  conjunction  with  this  Government,  to  run  and 
mark  the  line  agreeably  to  the  rights  of  the  parties;  and  still  more 
are  they  surprised  that  reasons  should  have  been  sought  after,  and 
arguments  employed,  on  which  no  just  inference  against  our  claim 
can  be  sustained.  The  whole  argument  used  by  the  committee 
charged  with  this  matter  has  for  its  foundation,  and  arises  out  of, 
the  mistake  of  Mr.  Ellicott  and  the  Spanish  commissioner,  in  desig- 
nating the  north  branch  as  the  true  source  of  the  St.  Mary's.  This 
mistake  is  the  keystone  of  the  whole  arch;  it  is  from  this  that  they 
say  the  north  prong  was  called  St.  Mary's  and  ought  to  be  so  con- 
sidered ;  it  is  this  that  led  them  into  the  error  of  declaring  that  the 
commissioners  of  the  two  Governments  were  appointed  to  settle  and 
decide  a  contested  question  of  boundary;  and  because  this  mistake 
was  not  detected  before  the  line  was  about  to  be  run,  the  acquiescence 
of  Georgia  is  presumed,  and  urged  as  an  argument  against  her  claim. 
It  is  a  fact  admitted  by  all  parties,  and  which  forms  the  very 
essence  of  this  controversy,  that  the  line  between  the  Chattahoochie 
and  Flint  rivers,  and  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river,  was  neither  traced 
nor  marked  by  the  commissioners  appointed  under  the  third  article 
of  the  treaty  with  Spain.  From  that  article  they  derived  their 
powers,  and  by  a  reference  to  it,  it  will  appear  that  they  were  not 
plenipotentiaries,  but  merely  ministerial  agents,  acting  under  orders 
to  run  and  mark  the  line  according  to  the  stipulations  of  the  2d 
article  of  the  treaty,  which  is  in  the  following  words :  "  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  United  States,  which  divides  their  territory  from 
the  Spanish  colonies  of  East  and  West  Florida,  shall  be  designated 
by  a  line  beginning  on  the  river  Mississippi,  at  the  northernmost 
part  of  the  31st  degree  of  latitude  north  of  the  equator,  which  from 
thence  shall  be  drawn  due  east  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachi- 
cola,  or  Chattahoochie;  thence  along  the  middle  thereof,  to  its  junc- 
tion with  the  Flint ;  thence  straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river ; 
and  thence,  down  the  middle  thereof,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean."  From 
the  Mississippi  to  the  Chattahoochie,  they  executed  their  commission 
according  to  the  stipulations  of  the  treaty.  The  remaining  part  of 
the  duty  assigned  them  they  neglected  to  perform;  and  whatever 
agreement  they  may  have  made  by  virtue  of  the  powers  invested  in 
the  third  article  cannot  be  reasonably  insisted  upon  as  authority 
for  varying  the  true  line,  as  the  article,  in  its  most  enlarged  con- 
struction, does  not  extend  so  far  as  to  justify  the  running  of  the  line 
in  any  other  direction,  or  from  and  to  any  other  points,  than  those 
designated  in  the  2d  article.  The  point  of  departure,  and  terminat- 
ing point,  are  both  fixed  by  the  2d  article ;  and  it  is  provided  in  the 
3d,  specially,  that  the  commissioners  should  run  and  mark  from  and 
to  those  points.    The  points  referred  to  are  from  the  junction  of  the 


94  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers,  to  the  heads  of  the  St.  Mary's  river, 
and  not  to  mound  A.  or  mound  B.  or  to  any  other  indefinite  place, 
to  be  fixed  upon  at  the  commissioners'  discretion.  As  the  proceedings 
of  those  commissioners  present  the  only  difficulty,  your  committee 
beg  leave  to  cite  the  whole  article  under  which  they  acted,  to  wit: 
"In  order  to  carry  the  preceding  article  into  effect,  one  commis- 
sioner and  one  surveyor  shall  be  appointed  by  each  of  the  contracting 
parties,  who  shall  meet  at  the  Natchez,  on  the  left  side  of  the  river 
Mississippi,  before  the  expiration  of  six  months  from  the  ratification 
of  this  convention;  and  they  shall  proceed  to  run  and  mark  this 
boundary  according  to  the  stipulations  of  said  article:  they  shall 
make  plats,  and  keep  journals  of  their  proceedings,  which  shall  be 
considered  as  part  of  this  convention,  and  shall  have  the  same  force 
as  if  they  were  inserted  therein."  It  is  charitable  to  presume  that 
the  Judiciary  Committee  did  not  examine  minutely  the  provisions 
of  this  article,  or  they  would  not  have  exposed  their  judgment  to 
impeachment  by  asserting  that  "  the  commissioners  of  the  two  Gov- 
ernments were  appointed  to  settle  and  decide  a  contested  question  of 
'boundary?'' 

There  is  no  discretion  conferred  in  this  article.  If  their  plats  and 
journals  were  to  have  the  same  force  as  the  convention,  they  were 
nevertheless  obliged  to  be  in  accordance  with  its  stipulation.  If, 
therefore,  Mr.  Ellicott  agreed,  as  is  insisted  upon,  that  ore  mile 
north  of  mound  B,  should  be  as  far  south  as  the  line,  when  run, 
should  approach,  it  is  very  palpable  that  he  exceeded  his  authority, 
even  though  he  may  have  made  a  plat  of  mound  B,  and  journalized 
the  agreement.  He  was  not  sent  there  to  make  an  agreement  defining 
a  point  to  which  the  line  should  be  run  at  some  future  time,  but  to 
run  and  mark  the  line  between  points  already  described.  If  per- 
mitted to  vary  the  stipulation  of  the  treaty,  he  could,  with  as  much 
propriety  and  equal  justice,  have  fixed  upon  a  point  fifty  miles  fur- 
ther in  the  interior  of  Georgia.  The  question  is.  did  the  Spanish 
and  American  commissioners  run  and  mark  the  line  from  the  junc- 
tion of  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers  to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's 
river,  as  they  were  directed  to  do?  No:  they  ran  no  line  at  all  be- 
tween those  points !  What  did  they  do '.  They  agreed  that  the  line 
should  be  run  at  some  future  time,  and  by  some  other  persons,  to 
a  certain  other  point,  different  from  that  fixed  by  the  treaty !  !  !  The 
committee  who  have  claimed  its  extraordinary  power  for  the  commis- 
sioners place  themselves  in  an  inextricable  dilemma,  as  they  not  only 
consider  themselves  authorized  to  overturn  the  treaty  they  were  ap- 
pointed to  carry  into  effect,  but  likewise  assume  for  them  the  right 
to  bargain  away  the  soil  and  sovereignty  of  a  sovereign  State,  who 
could  not,  under  her  obligations  to  the  Union,  interfere  in  settling 
the  boundaries  of  the  United  States,  though  on  that  line  of  it  she 
was  more  immediately  concerned  than  all  her  sister  States  together. 
So  far  from  those  commissioners  being  justified  in  the  exercise  of 
the  power  which  they  arrogated,  your  committee,  next  to  the  loss  of 
the  liberties  of  their  own  State,  would  regret  to  see  the  time  when 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  should  become  so  forgetful 
of  the  limitations  of  her  prerogatives,  as  to  assume  the  power  of 
ratifying  a  treaty  with  any  foreign  nation,  by  which  the  least  por- 
tion "of  Ihe  soil  of  a  State  should  be  taken  "from  her  without  her 
consent. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  95 

The  United  States  is  bound  by  the  Constitution  to  protect  us  from 
invasion.  Upon  the  supposition,  then,  that  the  line  had  been  run 
and  marked  agreeably  to  the  report  of  the  Spanish  commissioners, 
and  had  been  sanctioned  by  the  Government,  by  a  ratification  of  the 
treaty,  it  would  have  imposed  upon  her  the  disagreeable  alternative 
of  breaking  the  treaty  with  Spain,  or  abandoning  her  obligations  to 
the  confederacy.  If  Florida  were  yet  a  Spanish  province,  Georgia, 
would  have  a  right  to  require  the  United  States  to  perform  her  sacred 
engagements,  by  driving  from  our  soil  the  Spaniard  who  invaded  it. 
"  To  provide  for  the  common  defence"  is  one  of  the  principal  objects 
of  our  political  association;  and  could  the  United  States  humiliate 
themselves  upon  our  application  to  have  our  soil  and  our  sovereignty 
restored  to  ns,  by  pleading  that  they  had  ceded  it  to  Spain,  and  there- 
fore could  not  interfere,  such  a  disregard  of  her  obligations  would  be 
productive  of  the  worst  of  consequences,  as  it  would  destroy  all  con- 
fidence in  the  protection  of  the  Constitution.  It  is  not  expected,  now 
that  the  Federal  Government  is  the  proprietor  of  Florida,  that  it  can 
be  unmindful  of  the  declaration  in  the  Constitution,  that  "  no  new 
State  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  other 
State,  nor  any  State  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  States, 
or  farts  of  States,  without  the  consent  of  the  Legislatures  of  the 
States  concerned."  Has  the  Legislature  of  Georgia  ever  given  her 
assent,  in  any  manner,  that  that  portion  of  the  State  should  be  de- 
tached and  set  apart  to  assist  in  the  formation  of  another  State?  The 
foregoing  allusion  to  the  obligations  of  the  General  Government  to 
the  States,  we  have  thought  it  advisable  to  make,  because  it  does  not 
appear,  from  the  report  made  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  that 
the  committee  themselves  consider  Ellicott's  mound  to  be  the  head  of 
St.  Mary's ;  but  they  say  it  "  ought  to  be  so  considered,  because  Elli- 
cott  and  the  Spanish  commissioner  agreed  that  it  should  be  so,  and 
that  the  Georgia  commissioners,  in  1819,  concurred  in  the  designa- 
tion :  from  which  circumstances  it  had  the  reputation  of  being  the 
head  of  St.  Mary's;  and  because  of  that  reputation,  it  should  be  con- 
sidered the  true  head  or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's."  This,  though  not 
precisely  their  language,  is  the  amount  of  their  argument.  Your 
committee,  conceiving  that  they  have  most  conclusively  proven  the 
American  and  Spanish  commissioners  to  have  acted  extra  officially 
in  making  mounds  and  agreements  not  provided  for  by  the  treaty, 
any  reputation  of  names  inferred  from  those  acts  is  too  vague  to  re- 
quire serious  examination. 

In  regard  to  the  asquiescence  of  Georgia,  the  facts  cited  in  the  re- 
port to  Congress,  prove  that  the  authorities  of  the  State  were  de- 
ceived. If  Georgia  had  considered  the  act  of  the  United  States  and 
Spain,  as  decisive  and  final,  she  would  not  have  deputed  commis- 
sioners to  have  made  an  examination.  The  very  deputation  shows 
that  she  conceived,  as  must  be  admitted,  that  she  had  a  right  to  be 
heard  in  settling  her  own  boundary.  She  did  not.  though,  send  those 
commissioners  to  make  a  final  settlement  of  her  boundary.  She  could 
only  confer  such  power  when  the  United  States  was  ready  to  join  her 
in  the  commission.  They  were  sent  merely  upon  an  exploring  tour, 
for  the  satisfaction  of  the  State,  on  a  disputed  point.  The  United 
States  were  under  no  obligation  to  abide  by  the  opinion  formed. 
How,  then,  can  the  United  States,  upon  any  principle  of  reciprocity, 


96  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

contend  that  Georgia  should  be  forestalled  by  an  opinion  as  to  an 
isolated  fact,  to  "which  they  held  themselves  free  to  agree  or  dis- 
agree? The  acquiescence  of  Georgia,  in  the  extent  to  which  it  has 
been  given,  only  proves  that  she  was  then,  as  she  is  now,  and  ever  will 
be,  while  she  respects  the  rights  of  others  as  she  does  her  own,  willing 
to  be  governed  in  the  running  of  that  line  by  the  true  points.  She 
desired,  then,  no  more  than  she  believed  to  be  her  right ;  and  from  the 
evidence  then  in  her  possession,  she  supposed  the  point  fixed  upon  by 
Ellicott,  was  the  true  point.  She  contends  now  for  no  more  than 
later  developments,  incontestibly  prove  to  be  her  own. 

Your  committee  feel  authorized  by  the  facts,  to  deny  that  Georgia 
has  ever  acquiesced  so  far  as  to  agree  that  the  line  should  be  run  to 
Ellicott's  mound.  There  has  been  no  definite  act  of  the  State,  by 
which  the  matter  has  been  settled,  or  considered  settled,  by  either 
party.  It  is  true  her  commissioners  believed  that  the  mound  was  at 
the  source  of  the  river,  upon  whose  information  the  Governor's  opin- 
ion was  then  predicated ;  all  of  which  was  mainly  owing  to  the  confi- 
dence reposed  in  the  previous  examinations  of  Mr.  Ellicott.  They 
were  not,  however,  associated  with  commissioners  of  the  United  States 
to  settle  the  boundary :  they  were  acting  merely  ex-parte,  in  the  search 
of  information,  whose  report,  if  correct,  would  not  have  bound  the 
United  States,  and,  if  erroneous,  cannot  bind  Georgia :  neither  this 
nor  any  other  act  includes  either  party,  because  the  parties  never 
have  acted  in  conjunction;  consequently,  the  true  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  has  always  been  debateable,  and  from  the  limited  information 
as  to  the  topography  of  the  country,  it  was  obliged  to  remain  so,  until 
commissioners  were  duly  appointed  by  the  parties  to  run  and  mark 
the  line.  The  argument  of  the  committee,  that  the  north  prong  was 
called  the  St.  Mary's,  and  therefore,  "  intended  in  the  several  state 
papers  above  recited,"  to  which  they  attach  the  greatest  importance, 
is  based  upon  the  same  mistake  of  their  own  agent;  for,  from  the 
evidence  adduced  by  them,  it  appears  that  Ellicott  was  the  first  who 
gave  it  the  name  of  St.  Mary's,  in  exclusion  of  the  other  branches; 
and  by  an  assumption  of  their  own,  they  deprive  the  southern  branch 
of  a  participation  in  the  rights  of  a  name.  This  argument  cannot 
avail,  even  upon  the  principle  which  they  were  forced  to  admit  in 
their  illustration,  until  a  name  for  the  south  prong,  different  from 
St.  Mary's,  shall  have  been  established,  and  that  too,  known  to  the 
King  of  Great  Britain,  when  the  boundary  of  Georgia  was  described ; 
as  it  is  clear,  by  the  commission  to  Governor  Wright,  that  it  was  in- 
tended by  the  royal  government,  to  extend  the  eastern  boundary  of 
Georgia  to  the  most  southern  stream  of  St.  Mary's,  and  thence  to  the 
head  thereof.  The  river  took  its  name  at  the  disemboguement ;  of 
course,  all  streams  coming  in  on  the  south  were  southern  streams 
of  that  river.  To  the  head  of  the  most  southern  stream,  is  the  point 
at  which  the  eastern  line  determines ;  for  it  is  in  a  subsequent  clause 
that  the  southern  boundary  is  described  to  be  "  thence  westward,  as 
far  as  our  territories  extend,  by  the  north  boundary  line  of  our  prov- 
inces of  East  and  West  Florida." 

By  this  commission,  all  previous  boundaries  of  Georgia  were  re- 
voked and  determined.  To  this,  then,  we  are  to  look  for  our  geo- 
graphical limits ;  and  fortunately  for  us,  in  this  exigency,  it  describes 
that  stream  of  the  St.  Mary's  to  be  the  head,  or  source,  for  which  we 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  97 

are  now  contending,  with  an  accuracy  that  can  no  longer  be  misunder- 
stood. It  is  probable  that  the  course  of  the  river  was  not  accurately 
known;  from  which  it  is  inferred,  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the 
Royal  commission  that  Georgia  should  extend  as  far  south  as  the 
most  southern  stream,  and  to  the  head  thereof,  or  that  part  of  the 
description  would  not  have  been  incorporated  in  the  eastern  bound- 
ary. It  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  this  identical  stream  was  meant, 
and  not  the  stream  at  the  disemboguement,  which  was  between  Amelia 
island  and  the  main,  which  is  one  of  the  mouths  of  the  St.  Mary's. 

It  could  not  have  applied  to  that,  as  both  the  provinces  of  Georgia 
and  Florida  were,  at  that  time,  under  the  same  regal  government, 
and  Amelia  was  not  then,  nor  has  it  at  any  time  since,  been  consid- 
ered as  belonging  to  Georgia.  If,  then,  it  did  not  mean  the  southern 
stream  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  it  must  have  meant  the  southern 
stream  higher  up  the  river.  It  is  from  this  charter  that  our  Legis- 
lature conceived  themselves  authorized,  in  1783,  to  declare  our  bound- 
ary to  be  "  from  the  fork  of  the  Apalachicola,  where  the  Chatta- 
hoochie  and  Flint  rivers  meet,  in  a  direct  line  to  the  head  or  source 
of  the  southernmost  stream  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  along  the 
course  of  said  river  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean  " — which  furnishes  addi- 
tional evidence  that  the  south  prong  was  known  at  that  day  to  be  the 
head  of  the  river.  If  the  southern  stream  were  not  ascertained  to 
lead  to  the  source  of  the  river,  there  would  be  more  plausibility  in 
the  entertainment  of  different  opinions  upon  the  subject;  as,  in  that 
event,  the  boundary  acknowledged  by  Great  Britain  in  the  treaty  of 
'82,  and  provided  for  us  by  the  treaty  with  Spain  in  '95,  would  vary 
from  that  described  by  the  regal  commission  of  '64,  and  our  act  of 
'83.  But  when  all  these  documents  agree,  that  the  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  is  one  of  the  points  by  which  the  boundary  was  to  be  regu- 
lated, and  the  rights  conveyed  in  the  charter  of  Florida  are  not 
violated,  does  it  not  require  a  tenacity  of  opinion,  approaching 
obstinacy  in  error,  to  insist  upon  a  deviation?  It  is  not  expected 
that  Congress  will  be  led  by  sophistry,  to  the  support  of  an  erroneous 
claim.  These  questions,  then,  result:  if  the  line  were  to  be  run  to 
the  point  agreed  upon  by  the  commissioners  under  the  3d  article  of 
the  treaty  with  Spain,  would  it  run  according  to  the  boundary  de- 
scribed for  us  in  our  old  charter?  according  to  the  boundary  which 
is  secured  to  us  in  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain  ? 
which  is  provided  for  us  in  the  treaty  of  '95,  with  the  Spanish  Gov- 
ernment? which  our  act  of  '83  recognizes?  and,  more  than  all,  which 
our  constitution  consecrates? 

Your  committee  cannot  believe  that,  when  the  subject  is  fully  in- 
vestigated by  Congress,  the  Federal  Government  wili  be  so  unmind- 
ful of  justice  and  her  obligations  to  one  of  the  confederacy,  even 
upon  the  hypothesis  that  she  could  succeed,  as  to  claim  an  advantage 
which  is  derived  solely  from  the  negligence  and  error  of  her  own 
agent.  They,  therefore,  beg  leave  to  recommend  the  following 
resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  desirable  to  the  State  of  Georgia,  to  have  the 
boundary  line  between  her  and  Florida,  run  and  marked  as  speedily 
as  will  meet  the  convenience  of  the  United  States. 

Resolved,  As  the  act  of  Congress  of  14th  May,  1826,  providing  for 
the  running  and  marking  that  line,  requires  it  to  be  run  and 
marked  to  the  point  designated  as  the  head  of  St.  Mary's,  by  the 


98  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

commissioners  appointed  under  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of 
friendship,  limits,  and  navigation,  between  the  United  States  and 
Spain,  of  27th  October,  1795;  and,  as  that  line  is  not,  in  the  opinion 
of  Georgia,  the  true  boundary,  that  Congress  be  earnestly  requested, 
at  the  present  session,  to  repeal  the  aforesaid  act.  and  to  pass  another, 
authorizing  the  line  to  be  run  and  marked  according  to  the  provi- 
sions of  the  2d  article  of  said  treaty. 

Resolved,  That,  should  Congress  refuse  to  make  any  provision  for 
running  the  aforesaid  line,  in  conjunction  with  the  authorities  of 
Georgia,  the  Governor  be  authorized  and  requested  to  appoint  com- 
missioners, to  be  accompanied  with  a  competent  surveyor  and  artist, 
to.  run  and  mark  the  line  according  to  the  stipulations  contained  in 
the  2d  article  of  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  of 
the  27th  of  October,  1795. 

Resolved,  That  the  Governor  be  requested  to  forward  a  copy  to 
our  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress,  to  be  by  them  laid 
before  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States. 

Secretary  of  State's  Office,  Georgia, 

Milledgeville,  December  26,  1828. 
The  above  and  foregoing  is  from  the  original  deposited  in  this 
office.     Approved  by  the  Governor  the  20th  instant. 

E.  HAMILTON,  Secretary. 


February  13,  1830. 

The  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  to  which  xoas  referred  certain  reso- 
lutions adopted  by  the  Legislature  of  Georgia,  approved  the  Vdth 
December  last^  relative  to  the  boundary  between  that  State  and  the 
Territory  of  Florida,  report: 

That  they  have  bestowed  upon  the  subject  that  attentive  considera- 
tion which  its  great  importance  demanded,  and  which  is  always  due 
to  any  question  involving  the  territorial  limits  of  a  sovereign  State 
of  this  Union. 

Before  they  proceed  to  state  the  result  of  their  deliberations,  it  is 
proper  that  they  should  present  a  brief  historical  sketch  of  the  facts, 
out  of  which  the  controversy  between  Georgia  and  Florida  has 
arisen. 

By  the  second  article  of  the  provisional  treaty  of  peace  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  concluded  at  Paris,  on  the  thirtieth 
day  of  November,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-two,  it  was 
agreed  that  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States,  commencing 
in  the  middle  of  the  river  Mississippi,  "  at  the  northernmost  part  of 
the  thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude,"  should  run  from  thence  due 
east  "  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola  or  Chattahoochie ;  thence 
along  the  middle  thereof  to  its  junction  with  the  Flint  river;  thence 
straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary^s  river;  and  thence  down  along  the 
middle  of  St.  Mary's  river,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean." 

On  the  twentieth  day  of  January,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
eighty-three,  Great  Britain  ceded  East  and  West  Florida  to  Spain ;  and 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  99 

by  the  second  article  of  the  treaty  of  San  Lorenzo  el  Real,  concluded 
on  the  twentieth  day  of  October,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ninety-five,  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  it  was  agreed  that, 
'w  to  prevent  all  disputes  on  the  subject  of  the  boundaries  which  sepa- 
rate the  territories  of  the  two  high  contracting  parties,  it  is  hereby 
declared  and  agred  as  follows,  to  wit :  '  The  southern  boundary  of 
the  United  States,  which  divides  their  territory  from  the  Spanish 
colonies  of  East  and  West  Florida,  shall  be  designated  by  a  line  be- 
ginning on  the  river  Mississippi,  at  the  northernmost  part  of  the 
thirty-first  degree  of  latitude  north  of  the  equator,  which  from  thence 
shall  be  drawn  due  east  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola,  or 
Chattahoochie ;  thence  along  the  middle  thereof  to  its  junction  with 
the  Flint;  thena  straight  to  tin  head  of  St.  Mary^s  river,  and  thence 
down  the  middle  thereof  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean."  And  it  was  fur- 
ther agreed,  by  the  third  article  of  the  same  treaty,  that,  "  in  order 
to  carry  the  preceding  article  into  effect,  one  commissioner  and  one 
surveyor  shall  be  appointed  by  each  of  the  contracting  parties, 
who  shall  meet  at  the  Natchez,  on  the  left  side  of  the  river  Missis- 
sippi, before  the  expiration  of  six  months  from  the  ratification  of  this 
convention,  and  they  shall  proceed  to  run  and  mark  this  boundary, 
according  to  the  stipulations  of  the  said  article.  They  shall  make 
plats  and  keep  journals  of  their  proceedings,  which  shall  be  consid- 
ered as  part  of  this  convention,  and  shall  have  the  same  force  as  if 
they  were  inserted  therein.** 

Andrew  Ellicott  was  appointed  the  commissioner  under  this  treaty, 

on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  Don Minor,  a  Captain  in 

the  army  of  his  Catholic  Majesty,  was  appointed  the  commissioner 
on  the  part  of  Spain. 

Mr.  Ellicott  and  Captain  Minor  proceeded  to  run  and  mark  this 
part  of  the  line  which  ran  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Chattachoochie. 
In  September,  1799,  when  they  were  preparing  to  extend  the  line  from 
the  confluence  of  the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers,  to  the  head  of 
the  St.  Mary's,  the  hostile  disposition  and  attempts  of  the  Indians, 
compelled  them  to  relinquish  their  design.  As  the  western  point  of 
this  line  was  the  junction  of  two  rivers,  it  could  not  he  mistaken;  ami 
the  commissioners  knew,  that,  by  ascertaining  the  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  and  fixing  a  permanent  mark  upon  the  spot,  they  would  thus 
establish  the  eastern  point;  and  that,  between  these  two  points,  the 
line  could  be  run  and  marked  at  any  future  day.  They  accordingly 
proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Mary's,  and  ascended  that  river,  to 
the  place  whence  it  issues,  from  the  Okefenoke  swamp ;  and,  on  the 
26th  of  February,  1800,  they  erected  a  mound  of  earth,  on  the  West 
side  of  its  main  outlet,  as  near  to  the  edge  of  the  swamp  as  they  could 
advance,  on  account  of  the  water.  It  was  impossible  for  the  commis- 
sioners to  follow  this  stream  further,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
precisely  its  head,  as  the  swamp  from  which  it  proceeds  is,  at  all 
times,  almost  impenetrable;  and  particularly  at  the  season  of  the 
year  when  they  were  there.  For  this  reason,  the  commissioners 
agreed,  that  the  termination  of  a  line,  supposed  to  be  drawn  north 
45°  east  640  perches  from  the  mound  which  they  had  erected,  should 
be  taken  as  a  point  to  or  near  which  a  line  should  be  drawn  from  the 
mouth  of  Flint  river;  which  line,  when  drawn,  should  be  final,  and 
considered  as  the  permanent  boundary  between  the  United  States 
and  his  Catholic  Majesty,  provided  it  passed  not  less  than  one  mile 


100  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

north  of  the  mound;  but  if,  upon  experiment,  it  should  be  found  to 
pass  within  less  than  one  mile  north  of  the  said  mound,  it  should  then 
be  corrected  to  carry  it  to  that  distance. 

With  this  arrangement,  Mr.  Ellicott  believed  he  had  every  reason 
to  be  perfectly  satisfied. 

The  commissioners,  after  erecting  the  mound,  descended  the  St. 
Mary's,  and  encamped  on  the  South  end  of  Cumberland  Island, 
where  they  remained  from  the  6th  of  March,  until  the  10th  of  April, 
1800,  occupied  in  preparing  the  report  of  their  proceedings,  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  their  respective  Governments.  On  the  latter  day,  their  re- 
ports were  completed,  and  they  left  the  Island. 

The  committee  entertain  no  doubt,  from  the  testimony  before 
them,  but  that  this  report  was  immediately  transmitted  to  the  office 
of  the  Secretary  of  State,  although  it  cannot  at  this  time  be  found. 
Whether  it  has  been  mislaid  or  destroyed  by  fire  is  uncertain.  For- 
tunately, however,  Mr.  Ellicott  published  his  Journal  in  1803,  which 
contains  all  the  information  that  could  have  been  embraced  in  the 
report. 

It  may  here  be  proper  to  state,  that  our  Minister  at  the  Court  of 
Spain,  in  obedience  to  his  instructions,  addressed  an  official  note  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs  at  Madrid,  in  the  spring  of 
1828,  requesting  a  copy  of  the  report  of  Messrs.  Ellicott  and  Minor, 
to  which  no  answer  has  ever  yet  been  received  by  the  Department  of 
State. 

From  February,  1800,  until  the  year  1817,  there  is  no  evidence  that 
Georgia  entertained  any  doubt  of  the  correctness  of  the  commissioners 
in  the  execution  of  their  trust.  In  that  year,  Captain  William  Cone, 
then  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Georgia,  represented,  from  his 
own  knowledge,  that  Mr.  Ellicott  had  mistaken  the  true  head  of  the 
St.  Mary's;  and,  in  consequence  of  this  information,  the  Senate  of 
that  State,  on  the  19th  December,  1818,  adopted  a  resolution  request- 
ing the  Governor  thereof  "  to  appoint  two  fit  and  proper  persons  to 
proceed,  without  delay,  to  ascertain  the  true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's 
river ;  and,  if  it  shall  appear  that  the  mound  thrown  up  by  Mr.  Elli- 
cott, and  the  Spanish  deputation,  is  not  at  the  place  set  forth  in  the 
treaty  with  Spain,  that  they  make  a  special  report  of  the  facts  to  the 
Governor,  who  shall  thereupon  communicate  the  same  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  accompanied  with  a  request  that  the  lines  may 
be  run  agreeable  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning  of  the  aforesaid 
treaty."  Under  this  resolution,  his  excellency,  William  Rabun,  then 
the  Governor  of  Georgia,  appoinetd  Majors  General  Floyd  and 
Thompson,  and  Brigadier  General  Blackshear,  commissioners;  who, 
after  a  careful  examination,  with  Captain  Cone  for  their  guide,  re- 
ported, that  they  found  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  to  agree  with  the 
report  made  by  Mr.  Ellicott.  Governor  Rabun,  in  communicating 
this  information  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  in  March,  1819,  uses  the 
strong  expression,  that  the  report  of  these  commissioners  proved, 
"  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt,  that  the  information  received  by 
the  Legislature  of  this  State  was  incorrect;"  and  in  the  same  letter, 
he  urges  upon  the  Secretary  of  War  the  propriety  of  running  and 
closing  the  line  immediately,  according  to  the  treaty  with  Spain. 

By  the  treaty  concluded  at  Washington,  on  the  22d  February,  1819, 
between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  East  and  West  Florida  were 
ceded  to  the  United  States.     The  ratifications  of  this  treaty  were 


[Doe.  No.  43.]  101 

exchanged  at  Washington,  on  the  22d  February,  1821,  and  thence- 
forth, East  and  West  Florida  became  a  Territory  of  the  United  States. 

The  United  States  afterwards  proceeded  to  sell  and  patent  a  large 
portion  of  the  land,  included  within  the  present  claim  of  Georgia ; 
without  ever  suspecting  that  their  right  was  doubtful,  or  that  it 
would  be  contested. 

On  the  4th  May,  1826,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  at  the 
request  of  the  delegation  from  Georgia,  passed  an  act  to  authorize  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  to  run  and  mark  the  line  between 
Georgia  and  Florida.  The  first  section  of  this  act  contains  a  proviso, 
"  that  the  line  so  to  be  run  and  marked,  shall  be-  run  straight  from 
the  junction  of  said  rivers  Chattahoochie  and  Flint,  to  the  point  des- 
ignated as  the  head  of  St.  Marys'  river,  by  the  commissioners  ap- 
pointed under  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of  friendship,  limits, 
and  navigation,  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  King  of 
Spain,  made  at  San  Lorenzo  el  Real,  on  the  seven  and  twentieth  day 
of  October,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-five.''  In  pur- 
suance of  this  act,  Thomas  M.  Randolph  was  appointed  the  commis- 
sioner on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  Thomas  Spalding,  the 
commissioner  on  the  part  of  Georgia. 

In  March,  1827,  these  commissioners,  together  with  John  McBride, 
a  surveyor  appointed  on  the  part  of  Georgia,  entered  upon  the  per- 
formance of  their  duties,  and  after  having  nearly  completed  the 
running  and  marking  of  the  line,  their  operations  were  suspended, 
on  the  26th  April,  by  instructions  from  the  Governor  of  Georgia  to 
Mr.  Spalding,  directing  him  to  suspend  the  completion  of  the  line, 
until  it  should  be  ascertained  whether  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  had 
been  correctly  determined. 

After  this  suspension  of  operations,  Mr.  McBride  received  instruc- 
tions from  Governor  Troup,  dated  on  the  20th  June,  1827,  directing 
him  "  to  ascertain  the  true  head  or  source  of  the  St.  Mary's  river," 
which  he  immeditely  proceeded  to  obey. 

There  are  three  principal  branches  of  that  river;  the  north,  the 
west,  and  the  south;  and  it  is  evident  from  Mr.  McBride's  report  to 
the  Governor  of  Georgia,  he  conceived,  that,  to  determine  the  head  of 
the  St.  Mary's,  designated  in  the  treaty,  he  had  nothing  to  do  but 
ascertain  which  of  these  branches  was  the  longest,  and  discharged  the 
most  water.  Indeed,  he  expressly  declares,  that  "  to  ascertain  the 
source  of  each  of  these  branches,  their  length,  and  relative  magnitude 
at  their  points  of  confluence  with  each  other,  was  considered  the  ob- 
ject of  my  mission." 

Assuming  this  to  be  the  true  meaning  of  his  instructions,  he  reported 
that  he  had  found  the  south  branch  was  longer  than  the  north;  and 
that,  at  their  confluence,  whilst  the  south  branch  discharged  1,369 
cubic  feet  of  water  in  a  minute,  the  north  branch  discharged  only  993 
cubic  feet.  From  these  premises  alone,  he  concludes,  that  the  head 
of  the  south  branch  is  "  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,  referred  to  in  the 
treaty  with  Spain. 

There  is  a  passage  in  the  report  of  Mr.  McBride  to  the  Governor  of 
Georgia,  which  the  committee  will  transcribe  into  their  report.  In 
accounting  for  the  mistake,  which  he  supposes  to  have  been  committed 
by  Messrs.  Ellicott  and  Minor,  he  uses  the  following  language: 

"  The  United  States'  and  Spanish  commissioners,  who,  in  1800,  at- 
tempted to  ascertain  the  source  of  the  St.  Mary's,  in  ascending  the 


102  [Doc.  No.  4=3.] 

river  with  their  canoes,  passed  the  junction  of  the  north  and  south 
branches,  considering  the  former  as  the  principal.  That  those  com- 
missioners should  have  made  an  erroneous  determination,  may  be 
attributed  to  the  deceptive  appearance  of  the  two  branches  at  their 
confluence,  and  to  the  peculiarly  unfavorable  season  in  which  their 
investigations  were  made.  The  channel  of  the  north  branch  is  wider 
than  that  of  the  south.  Its  depth  is  greater,  and  its  water  of  a  dark 
reddish  color.  At  the  point  of  disemboguement  the  south  branch  is 
a  beautiful  limped  stream,  whose  narrow  channel  and  transparent 
water,  render  it,  apparently,  one-third  less  than  the  north;  but  its 
velocity  is  one  hundred  and  sixteen  feet  per  minute,  while  that  of  the 
north  branch  is  only  thirty-eight.  The  disparity  of  width  in  these 
branches  is  accounted  for  by  the  difference  of  the  countries  in  which 
they  have  their  sources.  That  in  which  the  south  branch  rises  is 
gently  undulating,  and  the  transparency  and  low  temperature  of  the 
water,  prove  its  origin  to  be  principally  in  springs.  The  vicinity  of 
the  sources  of  the  north  branch  is  frequently  an  extended  plane,  with 
but  little  elevation  or  depression,  which,  in  rainy  seasons,  is  com- 
pletely inundated  for  many  miles ;  and  these  vast  sheets  of  water  be- 
ing drained  into  the  north  branch,  increase  its  volume  to  a  torrent, 
which  forms  a  channel  much  wider  than  the  south  branch.  When 
the  United  States'  and  Spanish  commissioners  were  here,  in  Febru- 
ary, 1800,  Mr.  Ellicott,  in  his  Journal,  informs  us  that  the  swamps, 
at  that  season  of  the  year,  were  "  absolutely  impenetrable,"  in  conse- 
puence  of  the  preceding  winter's  rains.  We  cannot,  therefore,  be 
surprised  at  their  failure  to  make  a  correct  determination." 

Should  the  claim  of  Georgia  be  sustained,  it  will  take  from  Florida 
a  triangular  tract  of  land,  whose  base  is  157  miles,  its  perpendicular 
30  miles,  and  area  2,355  square  miles,  or  1,507,200  acres. 

The  committee  having  thus  made  a  statement  of  the  facts  in  the 
case,  will  now  proceed  briefly  to  present  their  views  upon  the  subject. 
Georgia,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  her  claim,  ought  clearly  to 
prove,  first,  that  the  commissioners  under  the  treaty  of  1795  with 
Spain,  mistook  "  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,"  and  ought,  in  seeking 
it,  to  have  ascended  to  the  source  of  the  south  branch  of  that  river, 
instead  of  the  north;  and  second,  supposing  the  existence  of  such  a 
mistake,  that  she  has  a  right  under  the  circumstances  of  this  case, 
and  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  to  assert  her 
claim. 

And.  first,  the  committee  are  not  satisfied  that  the  commissioners 
under  the  treaty  with  Spain  have  committed  any  mistake.  On  the 
contrary,  they  think  that  Mr.  McBride  proceeded  upon  mistaken 
principles.  In  their  opinion,  "  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,"  desig- 
nated in  the  treaty,  was  to  be  ascertained  by  the  reputation  of  the 
country  about  the  time  of  its  date — by  the  common  understanding 
of  those  acquainted  with  the  stream;  rather  than  by  a  geometrical 
admeasurement  of  the  length  of  its  different  branches,  and  the 
volume  of  water  emitted  by  each.  Which  is  the  principal  branch  of  a 
river  in  a  new  country,  must,  in  the  nature  of  things,  be  decided  from 
its  appearance,  and  not  from  any  actual  measurement.  Mr.  McBride 
himself  admits  that  the  north  branch,  even  when  he  was  there,  in  the 
midst  of  summer,  appeared  to  be  one-third  larger  than  the  south. 
Its  channel  is  much  wider  and  considerably  deeper.     In  order  to 


[Doc.  No.  43.1  103 

make  the  discovery  which  Mr.  McBride  did,  it  was  necessary  to  as- 
certain the  relative  velocity  of  the  two  streams  by  aetnal  measure- 
ment. This  expedient  would  never  be  resorted  to.  either  by  the  first 
settlers  or  the  first  visiters  of  a  new  country,  for  the  purpose  of  ascer- 
taining the  principal  branch  of  a  river.  Their  eyes  would  deter- 
mine that  question,  and  the  name  would  follow  the  appearance. 

But,  in  considering:  this  subject,  it  ought  also  to  be  recollected  that 
Mr.  McBride  made  his  admeasurement  in  the  very  midst  of  summer, 
at  the  dryest  season  of  the  year.  What  would  have  been  the  result 
if  the  same  experiment  had  been  made  at  other  seasons,  wo  may  con- 
jecture from  his  report.  He  tells  us,  "  that  the  disparity  of  width 
in  these  branches  is  accounted  for  by  the  difference  of  the  countries 
in  which  they  have  their  sources.  That  in  which  the  south  branch 
rises  is  gently  undulating,  and  the  transparency  and  low  temperature 
of  the  water  prove  its  origin  to  be  principally  in  springs.  The 
vicinity  of  the  sources  of  the  north  branch  is  frequently  an  extended 
plane,  with  but  little  elevation  or  depression,  which,  in  rainy  seasons, 
is  completely  inundated  for  many  miles;  and  these  vast  sheets  of 
water  being  drained  into  the  north  branch,  increase  its  volume  to  a 
torrent,  which  forms  a  channel  much  wider  than  the  south  branch." 

There  is  one  circumstance  worthy  of  observation  in  the  report  of 
Mr.  McBride.  Although  he  sought  information  from  every  source 
within  his  power,  yet.  it  does  not  appear,  any  person  ever  informed 
him  either  that  the  south  branch  had  at  any  time  been  known  by  the 
name  of  St.  Mary's,  or  that  the  north  branch  had  not  been  known  by 
that  name. 

Governor  Randolph,  the  commissioner  of  the  United  States,  under 
the  act  of  1826,  informs  us,  that  "  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  was  known 
as  soon  as  there  was  a  settlement  at  its  mouth."  That  the  Indian 
traders  crossed  the  north  branch  about  three  miles  below  Ellicott's 
mound,  at  what  was,  and  still  is,  called  the  Pine  Log  Crossing  Place, 
and  they  were  alwaj^s  said  to  have  come  by  the  head  of  St.  Mary's. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  declares  that  the  south  branch  has  always 
been  known  by  the  name  of  "  the  south  prong." 

The  testimony  before  the  committee  presents  other  reasons  for 
believing  that  the  commissioners  under  the  treaty  committed  no 
mistake,  but,  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  they  will  not  bring  them  into 
the  view  of  the  House  in  this  report. 

The  committee  Avill  now  proceed  to  consider,  whether,  under  the 
circumstances  of  this  case,  even  admitting  the  existence  of  a  mistake 
on  the  part  of  the  American  and  Spanish  commissioners,  Georgia  is 
not  bound  by  their  act. 

There  is  nothing  which  ought  to  be  held  more  sacred  by  nations 
than  the  boundaries  of  each  other.  An  unsettled  boundary  always 
produces  jealousy  and  discord,  and  often  war.  Vattel,  when  speak- 
ing on  the  subject  of  usucaption  and  prescription  among  nations,  de- 
clares, "  that  their  quarrels  are  of  much  greater  consequence ;  their 
disputes  are  usually  terminated  only  by  bloody  wars;  and,  conse- 
quently, the  peace  and  happiness  of  mankind  much  more  powerfully 
require  that  possession  on  the  part  of  sovereigns  should  not  be  easily 
disturbed ;  and  that,  if  it  has  for  a  considerable  length  of  time  con- 
tinued uncontested,  it  should  be  deemed  just  and  indisputable.  Were 
we  allowed  to  recur  to  antiquity  on  every  occasion,  there  are  few 


104  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

sovereigns  who  could  enjoy  their  rights  in  security,  and  there  would 
be  no  peace  to  be  hoped  for  on  earth."  The  learned  author  is  here 
speaking  of  mere  possession  on  the  one  side,  and  tacit  acquiescence  on 
the  other.  This  case  is  much  stronger  against  the  State  of  Georgia. 
It  is  the  case  of  a  boundary  ascertained  by  virtue  of  a  treaty  thirty 
years  ago,  and  not  merely  acquiesced  in  on  the  part  of  Georgia,  but 
sanctioned  by  the  most  solemn  acts  of  recognition  during  a  quarter 
of  a  century. 

Georgia,  as  a  member  of  the  federal  Union,  became  a  party  to  the 
treaty  concluded  at  San  Lorenzo  el  Eeal  in  1795.  One  of  the  chief 
objects  of  this  treaty  was  to  provide  for  running  and  marking  the 
line  of  separation  between  the  Spanish  colonies  of  East  and  West 
Florida  and  the  United  States.  It  was  the  intention  of  both  Gov- 
ernments, by  this  treaty,  according  to  their  own  language,  "  to  pre- 
vent all  disputes  on  the  subject  of  the  boundaries  which  separate  the 
territories  of  the  two  high  contracting  parties."  In  order  to  give 
the  proceedings  of  the  commissioners  appointed  under  this  treaty  a 
more  solemn  sanction,  it  declared  that  the  journals  of  their  proceed- 
ings should  be  considered  as  a  part  of  the  convention  itself,  and 
should  have  the  same  force  as  if  they  were  inserted  therein.  These 
commissioners  proceeded  in  the  most  public  manner  to  perform 
their  duties.  They  determined  the  point  which  should  be  consid- 
ered the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's,  and  erected  a  permanent  memorial 
by  means  of  which  it  could  easily  be  ascertained  in  time  to  come. 

The  committee  do  not  assert,  that,  if  a  clear  mistake  had  been  com- 
mitted by  these  commissioners,  the  United  States  and  Spain  would 
have  been  absolutely  concluded ;  but  they  consider  it  very  clear,  that 
in  such  a  case  the  party  injured  ought  to  complain  within  a  reason- 
able time.  In  this  case  Georgia,  by  her  silence,  acquiesced  in  the  de- 
cision of  the  commissioners,  until  the  year  1818,  when  she  instituted 
an  inquiry  on  the  subject,  which  resulted  in  a  solemn  recognition 
of  the  accuracy  of  the  commissioners  in  ascertaining  the  true  head  of 
the  St.  Mary's.  After  the  United  States  acquired  East  and  West 
Florida,  in  1821,  they  sold  and  patented  to  individual  purchasers  a 
large  proportion  of  the  territory  which  Georgia  now  claims  as  her 
own,  without  a  whisper  of  disapprobation  on  the  part  of  that  State. 
Nay.  more :  in  1826,  on  the  request  of  her  delegation,  Congress  passed 
a  law,  which  recognised  the  point  established  by  the  commissioners 
as  the  true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's;  and  it  was  not  until  after  the 
line  had  been  nearly  run  and  marked,  in  pursuance  of  this  act.  that 
she  protested  against  its  completion,  upon  the  ground  that  the  com- 
missioners had  mistaken  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's.  In  the  opinion 
of  the  committee  this  protest  came  too  late;  Georgia  had  no  right,  at 
that  late  day,  to  enforce  a  claim,  which,  if  successful,  would  deprive 
Florida  of  a  most  valuable  portion  of  her  territory,  postpone  her 
hopes  of  being  admitted  into  the  Union  for  many  years,  and  for  ever 
destroy  her  prospect  of  becoming  a  powerful  State.  Had  Florida 
continued  to  be  a  Spanish  province,  we  could  not,  in  1827,  after  the 
death  of  Mr.  Ellicott,  and  after  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  had  been 
fixed  for  seven  and  twenty  years,  have  asked  Spain,  with  the  least 
hope  of  success,  to  agree  that  the  head  of  another  stream  should  be 
substituted  for  that  which  had  been  established,  and  thus  take  from 
her  a  tract  of  land  containing  1,500,000  acres.  What  we  could  not 
have  demanded  from  Spain,  we  ought  not  to  require  from  Florida. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  105 

Upon  the  whole,  the  committee  recommend  the  adoption  of  the 
following  resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  the  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida  ought  to  run 
from  the  junction  of  the  rivers  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  to  the  point 
designated  as  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river  by  the  commissioners 
appointed  under  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Spain, 
concluded  at  San  Lorenzo  el  Real,  on  the  20th  day  of  October,  1795. 

Resolved,  That  an  appropriation  ought  to  be  made,  for  the  purpose 
of  enabling  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  complete  the  run- 
ning and  marking  of  said  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida,  under 
the  provisions  of  the  act  of  the  4th  May,  1826. 


Department  or  State, 

Washington,  toh  Feb.  1830. 
Sir  :  I  was  mistaken  in  the  information  which  I  gave  you,  verbally, 
a  few  days  ago,  that  the  Spanish  Government  had  promised  Mr. 
Everett  to  furnish  him  with  a  copy  of  the  journal  of  the  commis- 
sioners, Ellicott  and  Minor,  for  running  the  southern  and  southwest- 
ern boundary  lines  between  the  United  States  and  the  Spanish  do- 
minions, upon  the  application  which  he  had  addressed  to  that  Gov- 
ernment, by  the  orders  of  this  department.  I  find  now,  that  Mr. 
Everett,  by  a  despatch  dated  1st  May,  1828,  acknowledged  the  receipt 
of  his  instructions  upon  this  subject,  and  states  that  he  lost  no  time 
in  addressing  an  official  note  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  at  Madrid,  requesting  a  copy  of  the  journal  referred  to;  but 
that,  up  to  the  period  of  his  departure  from  that  capital,  no  answer 
was  received  by  him  to  that  note. 
I  am,  with  great  respect, 

Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

DANIEL  BRENT. 
James  Buchanan,  Esq. 

House  of  Representatives. 


FLORIDA  BOUNDARY. 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  the 
information  required  by  a  resolution  of  tlie  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  27th  ultimo,  respecting  the  report  of  the  Commission- 
ers for  running  the  line  between  the  United  States  and  Florida, 
under  the  treaty  of  1795. 

To  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States: 

In  pursuance  of  a  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  27th  ultimo,  calling  for  information  respecting  the  report  of  the 
commissioners  for  running  and  marking  the  line  between  the  United 
States  and  Florida,  under  the  treaty  of  1795,  I  herewith  communi- 
cate a  report  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  containing  the  desired 
information. 

ANDREW  JACKSON. 

Washington,  March  15,  1830. 


106  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

Department  of  State. 
Washington,  March  15,  1830. 
To  the  President: 

The  Secretary  of  State,  to  whom  has  been  referred  a  resolution, 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  27th  February  last,  requesting 
the  President  to  inform  that  House  "  whether  any  answer  has  been 
received  from  our  Minister  in  Spain  on  the  subject  of  the  application 
made  to  that  Government  to  obtain  a  copy  of  the  report  of  the  com- 
missioners for  running  and  marking  the  line  between  Florida  and 
the  United  States,  under  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  1795 ;  and  to 
communicate  any  information  recently  received  at  the  Department  of 
State  on  that  subject;"  has  the  honor  to  state,  that  it  does  not  ap- 
pear, from  the  files  of  this  office,  that  the  application  made  in  May, 
1828,  by  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  at  Madrid,  in  pursuance 
of  instructions  from  this  department,  for  the  document  referred  to, 
has  been  answered  by  the  Spanish  Government. 

The  only  information  recently  received  at  this  office  on  the  sub- 
ject embraced  by  the  above  resolution,  is  contained  in  a  letter  from 
Albert  Gallatin,  dated  the  18th  February,  1830,  and  in  a  document 
accompanying  the  same,  purporting  to  be  a  series  of  "  observations 
to  accompany  the  map  of  part  of  the  Mississippi  river,  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  United  States,  and  the  coast  of  Florida,"  copies  of 
which  are,  herewith,  respectfullv  submitted. 

M.  VAN  BUREN. 


New  York,  February  18,  1830. 

Sir:  Mr.  White,  delegate  from  Florida,  informed  me,  whilst  at 
Washington,  that  it  appeared,  from  a  correspondence  of  Mr.  Madi- 
son with  the  late  Andrew  Ellicott,  commissioner  of  the  United  States 
for  ascertaining  the  boundary  between  the  said  States  and  the  then 
Spanish  provinces  of  East  and  West  Florida;  that  the  official  map 
and  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  commissioners  had  been  lent  by 
the  State  to  the  Treasury  Department. 

This  must  have  taken  place  whilst  I  was  Secretary  of  the  Treasury ; 
and,  as  the  map  could  have  been  wanted  there  for  no  other  purpose 
than  as  affording  the  proper  basis  of  the  surveys  of  the  public  lands 
in  that  quarter,  an  inquiry  was  instituted  at  the  General  Land  Office; 
the  result  of  which,  as  I  am  informed,  was,  that  Mr.  King,  the  old 
and  principal  draughtsman  of  the  office,  had  a  perfect  recollection 
of  the  map  being  deposited  there;  that  Mr.  Freeman,  principal  sur- 
veyor of  the  lands  south  of  Tennessee,  had  taken  a  copy  of  the  whole 
or  part  of  it;  that  it  was  not  returned  to  the  Department  of  State; 
and  that,  whilst  Mr.  Tiffin  was  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office,  it 
was,  by  his  direction,  lent  to  a  committee  of  Congress,  which  had 
applied  for  it,  and  had  not  been  returned.  But  there  was  no  recol- 
lection of  the  "  report  of  the  proceedings  of  the  commissioners,"  if 
distinct  from  the  map :  and,  when  I  left  Washington,  no  such  docu- 
ment had  been  found  in  the  Land  Office. 

Mr.  Ellicott  had  given  me,  at  the  time  when  published,  a  printed 
copy  of  his  "  astronomical  and  thermometrical  observations  on  the 
boundary  line,"  with  some  corrections  in  his  hand  writing.  They 
were  published  at  Philadelphia,  for  T.  Dobson,  1801,  are  also  inserted 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  107 

in  the  5th  volume  of  the  transactions  of  the  American  Philosophical 

Society,  and  are.  I  presume,  well  known  to  you,  and  to  Mr.  White. 
But  I  had  some  recollection  of  another  manuscript  by  Mr.  Ellicott, 
on  the  same  subject,  being  in  my  possession;  and  made  lately  a  search, 
hoping  it  might  prove  the  lost  report.  I  have  found,  and  have  the 
honor  to  enclose  the  said  manuscript,  which  proves  to  be,  as  stated 
by  himself,  "Mr.  Ellicott's  observations  to  accompany  the  map,"  &c. 
I  had  (from  the  endorsement  "  for  Mr.  Gallatin."  and  having  for- 
gotten how  it  came  in  my  possession)  believed  that  it  was  my  private 
property,  and  had  been  given  to  me,  with  his  printed  work,  by  Mr. 
Ellicott;  which  will  account  for  its  having  remained  so  long  in  my 
library.  But  the  designation  "  to  accompany  the  map."  leaves  no 
doubt  on  my  mind  that  it  was  originally  transmitted  with  the  map 
to  the  Department  of  State,  by  Mr.  Ellicott.  and  sent,  also,  after- 
wards, with  the  map,  when  this  was  lent  to  the  Treasury.  The  words 
,;  for  Mr.  Gallatin  "  were  probably  written,  on  sending  it  back  to  me, 
by  some  person  (perhaps  Mr.  Randolph)  to  whom  I  had  lent  it. 

If  I  understand  the  question,  on  which  a  doubt  has  lately  arisen, 
between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  United  States,  this  manuscript 
contains  but  little  that  can  elucidate  it.  Yet  what  is  stated  (page  20) 
concerning  the  true  St.  Mary's.  "  which  is  formed  by  the  water  drain- 
ing out  of  the  Okefenoke  swamp,  corroborates  Mr.  Ellicott's  state- 
ments in  his  printed  i;  astronomical  and  thermometrical  observa- 
tions," above  alluded  to. 

It  appears  from  these,  that  the  commissioners  surveyed  the  bound- 
ary line  along  the  31st  parallel  of  latitude,  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Chattahoochie  river,  and  down  this  river  to  the  mouth  of  Flint  river, 
which  hist  point  they  ascertained  to  be  in  30c  42'  42"  north  latitude, 
and  .">  hours  30'  33"  in  time  west  longitude  from  Greenwich;  that 
they  did  not  survey  the  line  from  the  mouth  of  Flint  river,  to  the 
source  of  the  St.  Mary's;  that  they  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the  last 
mentioned  river,  ascended  it  as  high  as  it  was  navigable  for  canoes, 
where  they  established  an  observatory,  (A)  the  latitude  of  which 
they  ascertained  to  be  in  30°  21'  30".  and  set  there  a  hewn  post,  sur- 
rounded by  a  large  mound  of  earth:  that  they  ran  thence  a  traverse 
to  a  point  (4,403.2  perches  north,  and  886.4  perches  west  from  the 
point  A.)  where  another  post  was  set  up.  surrounded  by  another 
mound  of  earth.  (B)  thrown  up  on  the  margin  of  the  Okefenoke 
swamp,  and  as  near  to  it  as  any  permanent  mark  could  be  placed,  on 
account  of  the  water;  that  the  river  St.  Mary's  is  formed  by  the  water 
draining  out  of  the  said  swamp:  and  that,  as  no  specific  point  could 
be  fixed  in  the  swamp,  as  the  source  of  the  river.  "  it  was  therefore 
fie/reeel  that  the  termination  of  the  line,  supposed  to  be  drawn 
north  45°  east  640  perches  from  the  mound  B.  should  be  taken 
as  a  point  to,  or  near  which  a  line  should  be  drawn  from  the  mouth  of 
Flint  river;  which  line,  when  drawn,  should  be  final,  and  considered 
as  the  permanent  boundary  between  the  United  States  and  his 
Catholic  Majesty,  &c." 

I  have  inserted  the  preceding  paragraph,  to  save  you  the  trouble 
of  referrino-  to  the  several  parts  there  quoted  of  the  printed  obser- 
vations. There  can  thence  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  fact,  that  a  certain 
spot  was  agreed  to,  in  pursuance  of  the  treaty  by  the  joi'  t  commis- 
sioners, as  the  source  of  the  St.  Mary's.  But'  it  is  probable  that  the 
43004— S.  Doc.  407,  00-1 10 


108  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

authentic  evidence  of  that  fact  is  lost;  that  the  map  was  burnt  in 
the  Capitol  in  September,  [August,]  1814;  and  that  this  map.  cer- 
tified by  the  commissioners,  was  in  fact,  the  only  official  report  of 
their  joint  proceedings  made  to  the  Departine;  t  of  State.  Under 
those  circumstances,  the  manuscript  observations  of  Mr.  Ellicott 
may  be  of  some  use  not  only  as  corroborating  the  fact,  that  the  river 
which  issues  from  the  Okefenoke  swamp,  was  agreed  on  by  the  com- 
missioners as  being  the  true  St.  Mary,  but  also  as  a  document  trans- 
mitted by  Mr.  Ellicott  to  the  Department  of  State,  with  the  map, 
and  referring  to  it.  It  also  mentions  a  branch  coming  from  the 
west,  between  the  encampment  A,  and  the  point  B,  which  branch, 
therefore,  is  not  the  true  St.  Mary's  of  the  commissioners:  and  it  des- 
ignates the  situation  of  the  Okefenoke  swamp,  by  stating  that  the 
river  St.  Juans,  which  falls  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  has  also  its 
source  in  that  swamp. 

On  reflection,  I  also  enclose  my  copy  of  the  printed  observations, 
which  is  of  no  use  to  me,  and  which  is  not,  perhaps,  in  the  collection 
of  books  of  the  department.  But  it  must  be  observed,  that  the  plates 
referred  to  in  the  text,  are,  all  but  one,  wanting  in  that  copy.  It 
is  probable  that  they  were  inserted  in  the  5th  volume  of  the  trans- 
actions of  the  American  Philosophical  Society;  and  one  of  them, 
(plate  8)  mentioned  page  139,  and  purporting  to  show  the  traverse 
from  the  point  A  to  point  B.  would  greatly  assist  in  finding,  on  the 
ground,  the  true  position  of  those  points,  and  therefore  of  the  source 
of  the  St.  Mary's,  as  agreed  on  b}'  the  commissioners. 

J  write  to  Mr.  White,  letting  him  k  ow  that  I  have  transmitted 
Mr.  Ellicott's  manuscript    observations  to  you.   and  referring  him 
to  this  letter  for  further  information. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be. 

Very  respectfully,  sir. 

Your  most  obedient  servant. 

ALBERT  GALLATIX. 

The  Hon.  M.  Van  Bceex.  Secretary  of  State. 


The  following  observations,  to  accompany  the  map  of  part  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  coast  of  West  Florida,  being  hastily  thrown  together  from  my 
notes,  are  only  intended  to  convey  a  general  idea  of  the  country  to 
which  thev  refer. 

ANDREW  ELLICOTT. 

OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 

To  say  anything  new  respecting  this  river,  whose  magnitude  and 
importance  have,  many  years  ago,  employed  the  pens  of  some  of  the 
historians,  philosophers,  and  geographers  of  most  nations  in  Europe, 
a-  well  as  in  our  own  country,  is  not  to  be  expected  from  me.  In 
following  such  character-.  I  shall  proceed  with  diffidence,  and  con- 
line  myself  to  that  part  of  this  celebrated  river,  which  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  examining  myself,  and  which  lies  between  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio,  and  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  109 

The  confluence  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers,  is  in  37°  0'  23' 
north  latitude,  and  about  oh.  55'  23"  west  from  the  royal  observatory 
at  Greenwich.  I  am  well  aware  that  this  longitude  is  considerably 
less  than  has  generally  been  assigned  to  this  important  geographical 
point;  and  have  rot  adopted  the  alteration  without  some  hesitation, 
and  should  still  have  been  more  cautious  if  I  could  have  found  any 
other  authority  in  favor  of  the  former  .position,  than  charts  unac- 
companied by  any  observations.  The  observations  from  which  I 
have  deduced  both  the  latitude  and  longitude,  were  made  under  un- 
favorable circumstances;  the  weather  was  intensely  cold,  and  we 
had  not  sufficient  covering  for  ourselves  and  instruments;  but,  upon 
repeatedly  examining  them,  I  am  not  sensible  of  their  being  liable 
to  airy  material  objection. 

Those  who  are  descending  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  and  have 
been  pleased  with  the  prospect  of  large  rivers  rushing  together 
among  hills  and  mountains,  will  anticipate  the  pleasure  of  viewing 
the  conflux  of  those  gigantic  waters.  But  their  expectations  will  not 
be  realised — the  prospect  is  neither  grand  nor  romantic;  here  are 
no  hills  to  variegate  the  scene;  nor  mountains  from  whose  summits 
the  meandering  of  the  rivers  may  be  traced:  nor  chasms  through 
which  they  have  forced  their  way.  The  prospect  is  no  more  than 
the  meeting  of  waters  of  the  same  width,  along  the  sounds  on  our 
low  southern  coast.  These  great  rivers,  after  draining  a  vast  extent 
of  mountainous  and  hilly  country,  join  their  waters  in  the  swamp, 
through  which  the  Mississippi  passes  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  This 
swamp  extends  from  the  high  lands  in  the  United  States,  to  the  high 
lands  in  Louisiana,  and,  through  various  parts  of  it,  the  river  has, 
at  different  periods,  had  its  course.  From  the  best  information  I 
could  obtain,  the  swamp  is  from  36  to  45  miles  wide  from  the  bound- 
ary many  miles  up,  and  much  the  greater  part  of  it  lies  on  the  west 
side  of  the  present  bed  of  the  river.  From  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio 
to  the  southern  boundary  of  the  -United  States,  the  Mississippi 
touches  but  two  or  three  places  on  the  west  side  that  are  not  annually 
inundated,  and  even  those  are  for  a  time  insulated,  but.  on  the  east 
side,  it  washes  the  high  land  in  eleven  places. 

The  swamp  appears  to  be  composed  of  the  mud  and  sand  carried 
by  Mad  river  into  the  Missouri,  and  by  the  Missouri  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi, to  which  may  be  added  the  washing  of  the  country  drained 
by  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  rivers,  with  their  numerous  branches, 
which  furnish  a  fresh  stratum  every  inundation.  This  stratum  is 
deposited  upon  a  stratum  of  leaves  and  other  dead  vegetables,  which 
had  fallen  the  preceding  autumn.  These  strata  may  be  readily  ex- 
amined in  many  parts  of  the  swamp,  and  the  banks  of  the  river. 
The  depths  of  the  deposited  strata  differ  considerably,  and  princi- 
pally depend  upon  the  duration  of  the  different  inundations.  In 
1797  the  inundation  was  complete  by  the  last  of  February,  and  the 
river  was  not  entirely  within  its  banks  till  about  the  beginning  of 
September;  but,  in  1798,  the  inundation  was  not  complete  till  after 
the  middle  of  May,  and  the  river  was  generally  within  its  banks  by 
the  first  of  August.  The  mean  perpendicular  height  to  which  the 
river  rises  above  the  low  water  mark  at  the  town  of  Natchez,  is  55 
feet. 

Tn  descending  the  river,  you  meet  with  but  little  variety;  a  few 
of  the  bends  and  islands  will  give  you  a  sample  of  the  whole.     If 


110 


[Doc.  No.  43.] 


the  water  is  low.  you  have  high  muddy  banks,  quicksands,  a  1 1  <  1  sand 
bars,  and.  if  full,  you  might  almost  as  well  be  at  sea:  for,  days  to- 
gether, you  will  float  without  meeting  with  any  land  to  set  your 
feet  on,  and.  at  the  same  time,  environed  by  an  uninhabitable 
wilderness. 

This  river,  like  all  others  passing  through  flat  countries,  and  not 
checked  or  confined  by  hills  or  mountains,  is  very  crooked,  as  may  be 
seen  by  the  chart.  This  arises  from  a  very  natural  cause,  and  may 
be  explained  in  the  following  manner:  Suppose,  in  the  figure,  lines 
a  6. and  c  d  to  be  the  banks  or  margins  of  a  portion  of  a  river,  and 
the  water  moving  in  the  direction  e  /.  but  meeting  with  an 


b    d 


obstruction  at  /,  it  will  be  reflected  in  the  direction  /  g,  and  at  g,  as 
well  as  at  /,  the  bank  will  be  worn  away:  about  h  an  eddy  will  be 
formed,  where  sand,  earth,  and  rubbish  will  be  deposited,  and  con- 
tinually increase  the  convex  part,  while  the  concave  parts  will  be 
worn  away,  and  in  time  a  loop  will  be  formed  something  like  the 
dotted  curve  line  in  the  figure,  which  will  increase  in  magnitude  till 
the  river,  aided  by  an  inundation,  breaks  through  a  shorter  way,  and 
the  convex  part  will  become  an  island.  If  the  loop  has  been  very 
large,  and  the  water  ceases  to  have  much  current  along  it,  the  twTo 
ends  in  a  short  time  will  be  filled  up  by  the  great  quantity  of  mud 
and  sand  which  are  constantly  mixed  with  the  water  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, and  a  lake  will  be  formed.  These  lakes  are  to  be  met  with  in 
various  parts  of  the  swamp,  and  bear  evident  marks  of  having  been,  at 
some  former  period,  portions  of  the  main  bed  of  the  river. 

In  consequence  of  the  great  body  of  water  in  the  Mississippi,  and 
the  light  and  loose  nature  of  the  soil,  the  concave  banks  of  the  river 
are  falling  in  more  or  less  during  every  general  fall  or  rise  of  the 
water:  and  I  believe  but  few  people  have  ever  descended  it  in  either 
of  those  states  who  have  not  heard  or  seen  large  portions  of  the  banks 
give  way,  which  are  instantly  carried  off  by  the  current,  and  the 
earth,  sand,  and  some  of  the  rubbish,  again  deposited*  at  the  convex 
points  below. 

From  what  has  been  said,  one  general  caution  must  necessarily 
present  itself  to  those  concerned  in  navigating  the  Mississippi,  which 
is,  to  avoid  the  concave  banks.     Many  fatal  accidents  have  hap- 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  Ill 

pened  on  this  river,  either  through  ignorance  of  the  danger  or  inat- 
tention in  coming  to  at  improper  places  on  the  shore  to  cook,  procure 
fuel,  or  for  other  purposes.  We  have  a  late  instance  of  a  Mr.  Mc- 
Farling,  and  part  of  his  crew,  being  lost  by  the  falling  of  a  bank. 
When  the  banks  are  inundated  they  are  less  dangerous,  being  in  some 
measure  supported  by  the  water,  and  not  so  liable  to  give  way;  but 
the  concave  shores  are  still  to  be  avoided,  because  the  water  near  the 
banlc.  and  elevated  above  it,  not  being  confined  to  the  course  of  the 
river  bv  the  lower  current,  rushes  straight  forward  among  the  cane 
and  timber,  and  if  Kentucky  boats  (as  they  are  called)  fall  within 
the  draught  of  this  upper  current,  it  will  be  extremely  difficult  to  re- 
lieve them,  or  prevent  their  being  lost  in  the  woods.  Many  losses 
have  been  sustained  from  this  cause. 

A  boat  may  at  all  times  come  to  with  safety  at  a  sand  bar.  the 
upper  or  lower  end  of  an  island  where  young  bushes  are  growing,  or 
just  at  the  beginning  of  an  eddy,  below  any  of  the  points  that  are 
covered  with  young  cotton  wood,  (a  species  of  poplar)  or  willows, 
(salix  nigra.)'  From  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  down  to  the  Walnut 
hills,  it  is  not  safe  to  descend  the  river  in  the  night,  unless  the  boat 
be  uncommonly  strong,  on  account  of  the  sawyers  and  planters.  The 
former  are  trees  slightly  confined  to  the  bottom  by  some  of  their 
roots,  or  limbs,  and  the  loose  or  floating  ends  continue  a  vibratory 
motion,  generally  up  and  down.  Some  of  them  rise  five  or  six  feet 
above  the  water  every  vibration.  The  latter  are  more  dana'erous, 
being  firmly  fixed  or  planted  in  the  bottom:  they  are  all  easily 
avoided  in  daylight.  With  these  precautions,  the  Mississippi  may 
bo  navigated  with  as  much,  if  not  more  safety,  than  any  other  river 
upon  this  continent. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  give  some  account  of  the  construction  of  the 
map  of  the  river.  A  continued  and  correct  survey  of  the  Mississippi 
will  scarcely  ever  be  obtained,  on  account  of  the  swamps,  lagoons, 
thickets,  and  cane  brakes  on  its  banks,  and  below  the  banks  the  im- 
pediments will  be  equally  great.  In  some  places  impassable  quick- 
sands will  be  met  with,  in  others  the  water  will  be  found  washing 
the  high  and  almost  perpendicular  banks,  and  no  place  left  for  a  foot 
hold.  Some  other  mode  different  from  the  common  method  of  sur- 
veying must  therefore  be  resorted  to.  The  following  was  used  in 
constructing  the  map  to  which  this  refers:  The  mouth  of  the  Ohio 
was  taken  as  a  given  point,  both  as  to  latitude  and  longitude.  An  ex- 
cellent surveying  compass,  corrected  for  the  variation  of  the  needle, 
was  used  in  taking  the  courses,  which  were  entered  in  time,  instead 
of  space.  Every  day  when  the  sun  shone,  at  noon,  his  meridional 
altitude  was  taken  from  the  artificial  or  reflected  horizon,  with  an 
excellent  sextant,  made  by  Eamsden,  and  graduated  by  the  vernier 
to  twenty  seconds:  and  was  generally  found,  by  a  great  number  of 
observations,  to  determine  the  latitude  true  within  less  than  a  minute. 
The  latitudes  determined  by  those  observations  are  entered  on  the 
river  at  the  places  where  the  observations  were  made.  All  the  courses 
between  each  two  of  those  points,  were  protracted  in  time,  instead  of 
space,  that  is,  by  calling  the  time  space.  Each  set  of  courses  were 
then  expanded,  or  contracted,  so  as  to  agree  with  the  points  of  lati- 
tude to  which  they  belonged  :  and  from  the  number  of  latitudes  taken, 
I  expect  that  no  part  of  the  river  will  be  found  very  erroneous  in  that 


112  [Doc.  Xo.  13.] 

respect:  so  much  cannot  be  said  in  favor  of  the  longitude,  except  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  town  of  Natchez,  which  are  consid- 
ered as  given  points:  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  latter  being- 
determined  with  as  much  precision  as  that  of  any  other  point  within 
the  United  States. 

From  the  banks  of  the  river  constantly  giving  way,  no  map,  or 
chart  of  it,  can  be  expected  to  be  tolerably  correct  for  more  than  a 
century,  if  so  much. 

OF    THE    PEARL    OR    HALF    WAY    RIVER. 

The  Pearl  or  Half  Way  River  is  navigable  for  small  craft  many 
miles  North  of  the  boundary.  It  is  remarkably  crooked,  and  full  of 
logs  and  lodged  trees,  which  are  at  present  very  injurious  to  its  nav- 
igation. Its  banks,  for  some  distance  above  the  boundary,  and  almost 
the  whole  of  them  below,  are  annually  inundated.  The  banks,  with 
a  considerable  extent  of  country,  become  very  low,  below  the  Indian 
house  (marked  on  the  map)  over  the  whole  of  which  the  water  passes 
when  the  river  is  high,  and  here  it  begins  to  divide  into  a  number  of 
branches;  some  of  them  maintain  an  open  channel  till  the}7  unite 
again  with  the  main  branch,  and  others  are  lost  in  the  swamp.  Those 
branches  appear  so  nearly  of  the  same  size,  that  a  person  not  ac- 
quainted with  the  river,  will  be  as  likely  to  take  a  wrong,  as  a  right 
one.  This  happened  to  several  of  our  parties,  and  to  myself, 
although  I  had  two  persons,  with  me.  who  had  been  up  and  down 
twice  before:  we  were  a  part  of  two  days,  and  one  night,  before  we 
got  back  to  the  place  where  we  made  the  mistake.  The  officer  of  my 
escort,  with  several  of  his  men,  were  still  more  unfortunate:  they 
took  another  branch,  and  were  a  greater  length  of  time  before  they 
discovered  their  error,  and  on  half  allowance  of  provision. 

In  consequence  of  the  water  extending  over  such  a  considerable 
space,  it  never  acquires  a  sufficient  head  to  force  away  the  lodged  tim- 
ber which  in  two  places  extend  across  the  river.  The  upper  raft  is 
of  considerable  magnitude,  covered  with  grass  and  other  herbage, 
with  some  bushes.  Through  those  rafts  we  had  to  make  channels  by 
removing  and  cutting  away  the  logs  till  we  had  a  sufficient  depth  of 
water  to  float  our  loaded  canoes  and  perogues.  It  was  an  arduous 
undertaking,  and  executed  at  the  most  unfavorable  season  in  the  year. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  the  provision  made  use  of  at  our  station  up 
the  river  by  both  parties,  including  the  military  escorts,  and  for  ex- 
tending the  line  East  to  the  Mobile,  was  taken  from  New  Orleans 
through  the  west  end  of  Lake  Pontchartrain,  thence  up  the  river  to 
the  boundary. 

The  tide  ebbs  and  flows  a  few  miles  above  latitude  30°  21'  30", 
where  there  was  formerly  a  trading  house,  and  to  where  any  vessel 
that  can  cross  the  bar  into  the  lake  may  ascend  with  ease.  The  banks 
of  the  river  above  the  old  trading  house,- as  far  as  the  tide  is  percep- 
tible, are  too  low  and  marshy  for  a  settlement.  The  river  has  several 
communications  with  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  Lake  Pontchartrain, 
but  they  are  all  too  shoal  for  vessels  drawing  more  than  seven  or 
eight  feet  water,  and  therefore  only  fit  for  the  coasting  trade. 

The  coasting  vessels  which  visit  New  Orleans,  pass  by  the  mouth 
of  the  river  into  Lake  Pontchartrain,  thence  up  the  bayou  St.  John's 
to  the  canal  executed  bv  the  Baron  de  Carondelet.  which  terminates 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  113 

at  the  walls  of  the  city  immediately  behind  the  hospital.  This  canal 
requires  cleaning  every  .year,  and  is  done  by  slaves  and  criminals  con- 
demned to  hard  labor,  but  might  be  done  more  effectually  by  convey- 
ing a  stream  of  water  into  it  from  the  Mississippi  at  the  time  of  the 
annual  inundation,  which  might  be  effected  with  but  little  trouble 
and  expense. 

Lake  Pontchartrain  is  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  but  unfortunately 
surrounded  by  marshes,  and  the  landing  in  many  places  is  attended 
with  difficulty  on  account  of  the  mud.  There  are  some  places  towards 
the  east  end  where  the  beach  is  beautiful,  being  formed  by  large 
bodies  of  cockle  shells,  from  which  all  the  lime  used  at  New  Orleans 
md  about  the  lake  is  made. 

OF  THE  PASCAGOTLA. 

The  Pascagoula  is  a  large  river,  and  navigable  for  small  craft,  a 
considerable  distance  above  the  boundary,  and  from  the  report  of 
some  of  my  people  who  descended  it.  it  is  very  deep,  and  falls  with 
some  other  smaller  waters  into  a  bay  opposite  the  Horn  Island.  The 
bay  and  mouth  of  the  river,  on  account  of  shoals  and  oyster  banks, 
appear  only  adapted  to  the  coasting  trade. 

OF   THE    MOBILE. 

The  Mobile  is  a  fine  large  river,  and  navigable  some  distance  above 
the  boundary  for  any  vessel  that  can  cross  the  bar  into  the  bay.  One 
square  rigged  vessel  has  been  as  high  as  fort  St.  Stephen's,  in  latitude 
31°  33'  34". 

When  the  river  is  low,  the  tide  ebbs  and  flows  several  miles  above 
the  line,  and  is  sometimes  observed  as  high  as  fort  St.  Stephen's;  but 
when  the  river  is  full,  there  is  but  little,  if  any.  tide  above  the  town 
of  Mobile.  It  was  in  the  latter  state  when  I  ascended  it;  and  not- 
withstanding the  current  being  constantly  against  us,  and  but  little 
fair  wind,  we  reached  the  place  of  our  encampment  north  of  the 
boundary  in  four  days:  my  vessel  was  about  40  tons  burden. 

About  six  miles  north  of  the  boundary,  the  Tombeckbee  and  Ala-  ■ 
bama  rivers  unite,  and  after  accompanying  each  other  more  than 
three  miles,  separate :  the  western  branch  from  thence  down  to  the 
bay  is  called  Mobile.  The  Alabama  retains  its  name  till  it  joins 
some  of  its  own  waters,  which  had  been  separated  from  it  for  several 
miles,  and  then  takes  the  name  of  Tensaw,  which  it  retains  till  it  falls 
into  the  head  of  the  bay. 

The  easiest  way  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  by  water  into  the  United 
States,  is  up  those  rivers,  the  navigation  of  each  being  equally  good. 

The  upland  on  those  rivers  is  of  an  inferior  quality,  from  their 
mouths  up  to  the  latitude  of  fort  St.  Stephen's,  and  produces  little 
besides  pitch,  pine  and  wire  grass;  but  is  said  to  become  better  as  you 
ascend  the  rivers. 

The  lands  on  those  rivers  have,  notwithstanding,  had  a  good  char- 
acter for  fertility;  but  this  has  arisen  from  not  discriminating  be- 
tween the  upland  which  is  unfit  for  cultivation,  and  the  banks  of  the 
rivers,  which  are  fertile  in  the  extreme,  and  to  which  agriculture  is 
almost  wholly  confined  for  a  number  of  miles  above  the  boundary. 
But  those  lands  are  subject  to  a  great  inconvenience  from  the  inun- 
dations of  the  rivers. 


114  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

Planting  is  not  attempted  in  the  spring  till  the  waters  have  sub- 
sided, and  it  sometimes  happens  that  inundations  follow  the  first  fall 
of  the  water-  in  the  spring,  and  wholly  destroy  the  previous  labors 
of  the  planters.  This  was  the  cose  in  May,  1700.  after  the  corn  was 
two  feet  high;  but  this  inconvenience  is  by  no  means  so  great  as  it 
would  be  in  more  northerly  latitude :  there  still  remains  summer 
sufficient  to  bring  a  crop  of  corn  to  full  maturity. 

The  large  swam])  through  which  the  rivers  meander,  is  intersected 
in  almost  all  directions  by  smaller  water  courses,  which  keep  up  a 
constant  connexion  between  the  main  branches — Mich  of  them  as  were 
used  by  our  people  in  passing  and  re-passing  from  one  side  to  the 
other. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Mobile  river  stands  the  town  of  that  name. 
The  situation  is  handsome,  and  some  of  the  house-  tolerably  good, 
and  for  a  place  of  its  size,  the  trade  is  considerable.  The  place  is 
said  to  be  unhealthy  during  the  months  of  July.  August,  September, 
and  October. 

The  fort  stand-  a  short  distance  below  the  town;  it  is  a  well  built. 
regular  work,  and  was  taken  from  the  British  by  Don  Gralvez,  during 
our  revolutionary  war.  Since  that  time  it  has  been  repaired,  and 
put  in  a  good  state  of  defence,  by  the  officers  of  his  Catholic  Majesty. 

From  the  traverse  of  the  river,  the  latitude  of  the  town  appears  to 
be  about  30c  36'  30"  X.  and  the  longitude  5h.  52'  17"  west  from  the 
royal  observatory  at  Greenwich. 

The  bay  is  extensive,  and  supposed  to  be  about  9  leagues  in  length: 
but  too  shoal  for  large  shipping.  The  latitude  of  the  bar  at  the  en- 
trance into  the  bay  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  I  found  by  a  mean  of 
two  good  observations,  to  be  about  303  1:2'  30"  X.  and  as  the  course 
of  the  bay  is  nearly  north  and  south,  the  longitude  must  be  nearly 
the  same  as  that  of  the  town. 

or    THE    CONECUH. 

The  Conecuh  has  generally,  though  erroneously,  been  called  the 
Scambia  and  Escambia,  which  is  a  name  of  a  much  smaller  stream. 
that  falls  into  it  from  the  west,  and  unites  a  short  distance  above 
where  the  transit  of  Mercury  was  observed  in  the  year  1790. 

The  banks  of  the  Conecuh,  during  a  large  portion  of  the  spring,  are 
inundated  for  many  miles  above  the  line  down  to  Pensacola  bay,  with 
very  few  exceptions.  The  upland  is  poor  as  far  up  the  river  as  we 
saw  it.  but  it  was  -aid  to  be  tolerably  good  about  the  head  branches. 

The  river  is  navigable  for  small  craft  a  considerable  distance  above 
the  boundary.  All  our  tents,  stores,  instruments.  &c.  were  taken  up 
to  our  camp  by  water.  The  tide  ebbs  and  flows  but  a  few  miles  up 
the  river. 

The  Conecuh  falls  into  rhe  head  of  Pensacola  bay.  which  is  a  beau- 
tiful body  of  water.  Avell  stored  with  a  variety  of  fine  fish,  crabs  and 
oysters,  and  i-  justly  considered  one  of  the  best  harbors  on  the  whole 
coast :  vessels  drawing  not  more  than  twenty-one  feet  water  may  cross 
the  bar  at  all  times  with  safety. 

The  town  of  Pensacola  stands  on  the  west  side  of  the  bay:  the  situa- 
tion is  delightful,  and  the  place  remarkably  healthy:  but  the  water 
is  shoal  in  front  of  the  town. 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  115 

Pensacola  was  the  capital  of  West  Florida  while  that  province  was 
in  the  possession  of  his  Britannic  Majesty;  at  that  time  it  made  a 
very  respectable  appearance;  but.  since  the  conquest  of  that  colony 
by  the  Spaniards,  under  Don  Galvez.  it  has  been  on  the  decline. 

The  old  fortifications  stood  on  some  sand  hills  back  of  the  town,  and 
too  distant  to  yield  it  any  substantial  protection:  notwithstanding 
this  circumstance,  the  Spaniards  never  once  attempted  to  molest  the 
inhabitants,  or  to  injure  the  town  during  the  siege  of  the  forts,  which 
lasted  two  months.  The  garrison  made  a  gallant  defence,  and  the  sur- 
render was  hastened  by  one  of  the  magazines  accidently  blowing  up. 
During  the  whole  siege,  as  well  as  after  the  surrender,  Don  Galvez 
conducted  himself  both  as  a  man  of  courage  and  humanity.  Mr. 
Bowie-,  i  commonly  called  General  Bowles,)  Mr.  Philip  Key,  of  the 
State  of  Maryland,  and  several  other  Americans  of  distinction,  were 
at  that  time  officers  under  ( reneral  Campbell,  who  commanded  the 
troops  of  his  Britannic  Majesty. 

The  trade  of  Pensacola  is  at  this  time  principally  carried  on  by  the 
House  of  Panton,  Leslie.  Forbes,  and  Company.  The  latitude  of  the 
town  is  30  23'  13"  X.  and  the  longitude,  by  our  measurement  from 
the  Mississippi,  and  traverse  of  the  Conecuh  river,  is  about  87°  1±' 
15"  west  from  Greenwich.  But.  from  the  observations  of  Sir  John 
Lindsay  and  Doctor  Lorimer.  87°  10' :  it  may  lie  between  the  two,  but 
I  suspect  much  nearer  the  former.  The  latitude  of  the  bar.  at  the 
entrance  into  the  bay.  is  about  30  IS'  X.  and  the  longitude,  from  our 
measurement  and  traverse.  87°  17'  west  from  Greenwich.  The  harbor, 
as  well  as  all  the  others  easi  of  the  Mississippi,  is  rendered  much  less 
valuable  on  account  of  the  worms.  They  are  so  numerous  in  this  bay. 
that  a  vessel's  bottom  has  been  known  to  be  ruined  in  two  months: 
and  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  all  vessels  not  copper-bottomed, 
lying  in  the  harbor,  to  be  hove  down,  cleaned,  and  payed,  every  five 
or  six  weeks. 

The  entrance  into  the  bay  is  defended  by  a  small  fort  on  the  west 
end  of  St.  Rose's  Island,  and  a  battery  on  the  main  land  nearly  oppo- 
site to  it. 

OF  THE  CHATTAHOOCHIE  OR  APALACHICOLA. 

■ 

This  is  a  fine  large  river,  and  navigable  for  boats  and  galley-  that 
use  oars  a  considerable  distance  north  of  the  boundary.  A  sloop  in  the 
service  of  his  Catholic  Majesty's  commissioner,  and  a  small  schooner  in 
our  employ,  ascended  up  to  the  mouth  of  Flint  river,  which  falls  into 
the  Chattahoochie  about  twenty-one  miles  below  the  parallel  of  31°; 
but  this  was  attended  with  some  difficulty.  The  United  States' 
Schooner  Sally  ascended  about  thirty  miles,  but  for  want  of  oars  pro- 
ceeded no  higher.  From  the  mouth  of  the  river  up,  for  the  distance  of 
at  least  forty  miles,  the  banks  are  very  low.  and.  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  places,  inundated  whenever  the  water  is  moderately  high.  But, 
as  you  ascend,  the  banks  become  more  elevated,  and  some  of  them. 
which  may  be  called  bottom  land,  are  seldom  overflown.  These  are 
remarkably  rich,  and  extremely  fertile ;  and  are  almost  the  only  lands 
under  cultivation  by  the  Indians  who  reside  on  the  river. 

A  few  miles  below  the  mouth  of  Flint  river,  lime-stone  begins  to 
make  its  appearance,  and  extends  far  up  into  the  country :  it  is  open 
and  porous,  and  of  a  dirty  blueish  color.     On  the  east  side  of  the 


116  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

mouth  of  Flint  river,  and  for  a  considerable  distance  up  it,  large 
quantities  of  iron  ore  may  be  seen. 

The  upland  on  the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers,  from  the  bound- 
ary southward,  is  of  an  inferior  quality,  though  much  better  than 
on  some  of  the  waters  already  mentioned. 

The  Chattahoochie  empties  itself  into  St.  George's  sound  by  three 
mouths.  The  most  eastern  one  is  at  present  only  navigable  for  canoes 
and  small  boats,  on  account  of  the  lodged  timber  and  rafts.  Our 
vessels  ascended  the  most  westerly  one,  which  is  at  this  time  the  main 
channel;  but  the  navigation  of  this  is  troublesome  for  those  not  ac- 
quainted with  it;  not  on  account  of  logs  and  such  impediments,  but 
from  its  connexion  with  lakes  and  swamps  by  branches  apparently 
larger  than  itself.  We  took  two  of  them  coming  in  from  the  west- 
ward ;  the  first  led  us  into  a  lake  about  three  leagues  in  length,  and  a 
half  in  width:  the  other,  a  feAV  miles  from  the  main  branch,  was 
divided  in  such  a  manner  into  smaller  ones  that  we  soon  discovered 
our  mistake.  The  latitude  of  the  mouth  of  the  western  branch  is 
about  29°  42'  X.  and  the  longitude,  by  a  lunar  observation,  5h.  39' 
23"  west  from  the  royal  observatory  at  Greenwich. 

St.  George's  sound  is  principally  formed  by  three  islands ;  between 
the  most  westerly  one  and  the  main  land  the  channel  is  narrow  and 
shoal,  and  only  fit  for  canoes;  between  this  island  and  St.  George's, 
which  gives  the  name  to  the  sound,  is  a  bar  on  which  some  bushes 
are  growing.  The  coasting  vessels  pass  between  those  islands.  St. 
George's  island  is  supposed  to  be  about  six  leagues  in  length,  but  in 
no  place  more  than  one  wide.  The  distance  from  St.  George's  island 
across  the  sound  is  from  one  to  two  and  a  half  leagues.  The  next 
island  is  not  laid  down  in  any  of  our  charts;  it  is  about  two  leagues 
in  length,  and  two  miles  east  of  St.  George's  island.  The  main  chan- 
nel into  the  sound  is  near  the  west  end  of  this  island.  From  this 
island  to  the  next  (which  at  low  water  sometimes  joins  the  main  land) 
it  is  too  shoal  for  any  other  than  coasting  vessels. 

The  latitude  of  the  east  end  of  St.  George's  island  is  29°  44'  38"  X. 
and  the  longitude  (by  taking  the  result  of  the  lunar  observation  be- 
fore mentioned,  as  a  correct  point)  5h.  38'  35"  west  from  Greenwich. 
The  sound  is  so  full  of  oyster  banks  and  skoals,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
navigate  it  without  a  pilot. 

The  coast  on  the  north  side  of  the  sound  is  intersected  and  cut  to 
piece-  by  such  a  variety  of  water  courses,  several  of  which  have  evi- 
dently, at  some  former  period,  been  mouths  of  the  river,  that  it  is 
extremely  difficult  to  find  the  true  branches;  we  were  constantly  em- 
ployed live  or  six  days  in  discovering  them. 

(if  the  st.  mary's  river. 

The  river  St.  Mary's  is  a  part  of  the  southern  boundary  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  navigable  for  top-sail  vessels  at  all  times,  up 
to  Trader's  Hill,  and  from  thence  up,  for  small  boats  and  canoes, 
almost  to  the  Okefenoke  swamp,  when  the  water  is  moderately  high, 
were  it  not  for  logs,  drift  wood,  and  rafts,  which  in  many  places 
extend  across  the  stream.  A  large  branch  comes  in  from  the  west 
above  our  encampment,  which  is  noted  on  the  map:  it  is  but  little 
inferior  to  the  one  considered  as  the  true  St.  Mary's,  which  is  formed 
by  the  water  draining  out  of  the  Okefenoke  swamp.     The  swamp  is 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  117 

very  large,  though  much  less  than  has  been  generally  supposed,  and 
furnished  subjects  for  a  number  of  fabulous  stories.  The  swamp 
is  watered  by  a  vast  number  of  small  streams  and  drains,  which  gen- 
erally rise  within  its  vicinity.  The  river  St.  Juans,*  which  falls 
into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  as  well  as  the  St.  Mary's,  lias  its  source  in 
this  swamp. 

A  large  portion  of  the  banks  on  both  sides  of  the  St.  Mary's  are 
annually  inundated.  The  upland  is  generally  of  an  inferior  quality,, 
producing  little  besides  wire  grass  and  pitch-pine. 

A  NOTE  RESPECTING  WEST  FLORIDA. 

The  upland  in  West  Florida,  as  it  is  now  bounded,  is  generally  of  a 
very  inferior  quality,  except  on  the  Mississippi,  and  is  of  but  little 
value  for  either  planting  or  farming.  The  river  bottoms  are  all  fer- 
tile, but  too  inconsiderable  as  to  quantity,  or  too  low  and  marshy,  to 
give  much  value  to  the  province. 

It  may  be  observed  that  no  restrictions  in  this  country  have  been 
found  so  effective,  as  to  prevent  settlements  being  made  where  the 
land  has  been  good ;  a  conclusion  may  therefore  be  fairly  drawn,  that 
this  province,  which  has  been  aided  by  France.  Great  Britain,  and 
Spain,  each  in  her  turn,  and  yet  remain  unsettled,  must  be  materially 
defective  in  point  of  -oil. 

It  is  true,  that  the  towns  of  Mobile  and  Pensaeola  have  been  flour- 
ishing places:  but  this  was  owing  to  causes  not  immediately  dependent 
upon  the  soil.  The  latter  was  the  -cat  of  Government  while  the  prov- 
ince was  held  by  Great  Britain,  and  from  the  excellence  of  the  harbor, 
it  was  much  frequented  by  the  shipping  of  that  nation,  and  both 
places  well  situated  for  carrying  on  the  Indian  trade,  which  was  at 
that  time  very  great;  but  that  trade  having  greatly  declined,  and  but 
little  other  for  want  of  inhabitant-,  and  the  necessary  articles  for 
exportation,  those  towns  have  declined  also.  Mobile  is  beginning  to 
recover,  but  this  is  owing  to  the  settlements  forming  north  of  the 
boundary,  on  the  Tombeckbee  and  Alabama  rivers.  Notwithstanding 
the  favorable  situation  of  those  towns,  they  can  never  be  of  much 
consequence,  but  from  the  settlement  of  the  country  north  of  the 
boundary,  which  has  greatly  the  advantage  in  point  of  soil  and 
climate. 

Although  West  Florida  is  of  but  little  importance  when  considered 
alone,  and  unconnected  with  the  country  north  of  it.  it  is  of  immense 
consequence  when  viewed  as  possessing  all  the  avenues  of  commerce 
to,  and  from,  a  large  productive  country — a  country  extending  north 
from  the  31st  degree  of  north  latitude,  to  the  sources  of  the  Pearl, 
Pascagoula.  Mobile.  Alabama.  Conecuh.  Chattahoochie.  and  Flint 
rivers,  and  at  least  300  miles  from  east  to  west.  The  coast  of  this 
province  furnishes  live  oak  and  cedar,  in  considerable  abundance. 
fit  for  ship  building,  which  is  not  to  be  met  with  in  any  quantity. 
north  of  the  boundary. 

From  the  safety  of  the  coast  of  this  province,  added  to  the  great 
number  of  harbors  proper  for  coasting  vessels,  (that  of  Pensacola 
into  which  a  fleet  may  sail  and  ride  with  safety,  and  that  of  St. 
Joseph's,  into  which  vessels,  not  drawing  more  than  17  feet  water, 

♦Another  of  the  same  name  falls  into  the  Atlantic  between  the  St.  Mary's  and 
Augustine. 


118  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

may  sail  at  all  times,)  it  must  be  considered  important  in  a  commer- 
cial point  of  view:  and  if  connected  with  the  country  north  of  it.  be 
capable  of  prescribing  maritime  regulations  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

In  a  political  point  of  view,  West  Florida  may  be  viewed  as  an 
object  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  United  States;  because  that 
nation  which  holds  the  avenues  to  commerce,  may  give  a  tone  to  the 
political  measures  of  another,  unfriendly  both  to  liberty  and  happi- 
ness, 

OF    EAST    FLORIDA. 

East  Florida  is  but  little  better  than  a  wilderness;  the  soil  is  not 
superior  to  that  of  West  Florida ;  and  none  of  its  navigable  waters 
rising  in  the  United  States,  it  does  not  appear  equally  interesting; 
it  is.  nevertheless,  of  considerable  importance,  having  two  remark- 
ably fine  harbors  on  the  west  side,  opening  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
viz;  Hillsborough  bay  and  Charlotte  harbor.  The  first  is  very  capa- 
cious, and  will  admit,  with  safety,  any  vessel  drawing  not  more  than 
•2o  or  24  feet  water:  the  latter  is  a  good  harbor,  but  will  not  admit 
vessels  drawing  more  than  15  or  16  feet  water. 

The  first  Englishman  who  explored  Hillsborough  bay.  was  a  Capt. 
Braddock,  who  commanded  a  privateer  from  Virginia,  and  cruised 
on  the  west  coast  of  East  Florida,  in  the  years  1744  and  1745. 

East  Florida  must  derive  its  principal  importance  from  its  prox- 
imity to  the  West  India  Islands,  and  the  great  number  of  harbors, 
and  fit  stations  for  cruisers,  which  it  furnishes  among  the  small 
islands,  and  in  the  reef,  on  the  edge  of  the  Gulf  stream,  which  is  the 
outlet  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

We  have  not  one  chart  of  the  coast  of  East  Florida,  which  can  be 
depended  upon  for  accuracy.  A  survey  of  the  east  side  of  it  was 
submitted,  by  the  British  Government,  to  Mr.  John  de  Brahm,  and 
the  west  side  to  Mr.  George  Gauld;  but  the  labors  of  (hose  gentlemen 
have  never  been  made  public. 

OF  POSITIONS   FOB    MILITARY  WORKS  NEAR  THE  BOUNDARY. 

There  are  several  places  on  the  Mississippi,  between  the  mouth  of 
the  Ohio  and  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States,  that  would 
answer  very  well  for  military  establishments;  but  the  best  appear 
to  be  at  the  Chickasaw  bluffs.  Walnut  hills,  and  Loftus's  heights. 
The  tAvo  latter  appear  to  have  the  best  command  of  the  river.  At  one 
of  the  three  bluffs,  above  the  Chickasaw  bluffs,  (but  I  cannot  recol- 
lect which.)  a  fort  might  be  advantageously  erected.  Fort  Prud- 
homme  was  built  upon  the  middle  one. 

It  will  be  difficult  to  erect  works  on  any  part  of  the  Mississippi, 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  that  will  prevent  the  descent  of  troops. 
The  rapidity  of  the  water,  and  the  width  of  the  river,  will  enable  a 
boat,  with  some  exertion,  to  pass  any  of  the  forts  with  but  little,  if 
any  damage;  and  there  is  no  place  where  a  cross  fire  could  be  brought 
to  bear  with  much  advantage.  But  the  ascent  of  boats  is  so  slow, 
that  a  few  pieces  of  artillery,  well  directed  and  served,  would  stop 
the  progress  of  any  vessel  used  on  the  river. 

On  the  Pearl,  or  Half  Way  river,  a  very  short  distance  above  the 
boundary,  is  a  commanding  eminence,  where  a  fort  might  be  erected, 
that  would  easily  prevent  the  ascent  of  such  boats  and  pirogues,  as 
would  be  proper  for  that  navigation. 


[Doc.  No.  43.] 

My  knowledge  of  the  Pascagoula.  is  too  limited  to  justify  an  opin- 
ion:'but.  from  its  distance  both  from  the  Pearl  and  Mobile  rivers. 
and  direct  communication  with  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  added  to  its 
magnitude.  I  should  suppose  it  worthy  of  as  much,  if  not  more  atten- 
tion, than  the  Pearl  river. 

The  Mobile.  Tombecbee,  and  Alabama  rivers,  are  at  this  time  of 
much  more  importance  to  the  United  States,  than  all  the  other  waters 
between  the  Mississippi  river  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean:  being  the  only 
rivers  which  are  navigable  for  square  rigged  vessels  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  into  that  part  of  the  United  States  lying  on  the  north  bound- 
ary of  West  Florida.  But.  exclusive  of  this  consideration,  there  is 
another,  which  arises  from  the  lands  on  those  rivers  being  already 
partially  settled,  and.  at  this  time,  the  most  valuable  part  of  the 
Union. 

The  position  of  fort  Stoddard,  on  Ward's  bluff,  is  a  very  proper 
one:  but  the  works  are  neither  sufficiently  extensive  nor  strong  to 
oppose  an  enemy  possessed  of  artillery:  and.  so  long  as  his  Catholic 
Majesty  holds  West  Florida,  so  long  will  it  be  necessary  for  the 
United  States  to  be  formidable  in  this  quarter. 

Any  works  on  the  Conecuh  will,  for  some  time  to  come,  be  unneces- 
sary; there  being  no  inhabitants  to  protect,  nor  a  sufficient  body  of 
Indians  residing  on  it.  to  make  that  trade  worth  attending  to.  About 
one  mile  and  a  half  above  the  boundary,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
there  is  a  place  where  a  trader  formerly  resided,  that  would  answer 
tolerably  well  for  a  small  military  establishment. 

At  the  confluence  of  the  Chattahoochie  and  Flint  rivers,  the  lands 
are  swampy,  and  annually  inundated,  and  therefore  unfit  for  mili- 
tary works:  but  there  are  several  bluffs  on  the  east  side  of  the  Chatta- 
hoochie, which  begin  about  one  mile  and  three-quarters  above  the 
mouth  of  Flint  river,  where  works  might  be  advantageously  erected. 

On  the  St.  Mary's  river  we  have  two  military  establishments,  one 
at  Colerain.  and  the  other  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  on  Point  Petre. 
Neither  of  them  ever  have,  or  will  be  of  any  advantage,  either  in 
protecting  our  trade,  or  adding  security  to  our  citizens:  they  pos- 
sess neither  advantage  of  situation,  merit  in  design,  nor  strength  in 
the  execution.  The  situation  selected  by  the  very  judicious  General 
Oglethorpe,  on  the  south  end  of  Cumberland  Island,  where  he  erected 
Fort  William,  appears  to  be  the  most  eligible,  and  better  calculated 
for  a  permanent  work,  to  give  security  to  the  harbor  and  sound,  than 
any  other  position  about  St.  Mary's. 

OF    THE    INDIGENOUS    PLANTS.    SHRUBBY    AND    HERBACEOUS. 

Being  a  very  indifferent  botanist.  I  shall  be  extremely  limited  on 
this  subject,  and  only  note  such  productions  as  particularly  attracted 
my  attention  for  their  use,  quantity,  beauty,  or  singularity. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio,  and  down  the  Mississippi  swamp,  the 
prevailing  timber  is  cotton  wood,  (populus  deltoida  of  Marshall.) 
black  willow,  (salix  nigra.)  black  ash.  (fraxinus  nigra.)  sugar  maple, 
(acer  saccarum.) — but  this  is  not  in  great  abundance,  and  becomes 
more  scarce  as  you  descend  the  river:  and  I  do  not  recollect  ever 
seeing  but  one  tree  south  of  the  southern  boundary — water  maple, 
(acer  negundo.)  peccan.  (juglans  Illinoinensis.) — this  is  met  with  as 
high  as  the  Wabash,  where  it  is  scarce,  but  becomes  more  abundant 


120  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

from  thence  down  to  the  Gnlf  of  Mexico — papaw,  (annona  trib- 
loba,) — I  have  eaten  of  the  fruit  in  great  perfection  as  early  as  the 
17th  July,  in  the  Mississippi  Territory — button  wood  or  sycamore, 
( platanus  occidentalis.)  hickory,  (juglans  hickory.)  The  cypress 
(cupressus  disticha.)  begins  to  make  its  appearance  about  the 
Arkansas,  and  becomes  very  abundant  a  little  further  south,  and 
appears  to  be  inexhaustible  before  you  reach  the  31st  degree  of  north 
latitude.  It  occupies  many  parts  of  the  swamp,  almost  "to  the  exclu- 
sion of  any  other  timber.  The  cypress  is  a  very  useful  wood,  and 
used  generally  in  that  country  for  covering,  flooring,  and  finishing 
the  buildings.  It  grows  in  swamps,  marshes,  and  ponds,  but  not  on 
high  land.  The  stem  or  body  of  the  tree  generally  rises  from  the 
apex  of  a  large  conical  base,  above  which  the  workmen  have  fre- 
quently to  erect  scaffolds  before  they  fall  the  tree.  From  the  roots 
■of  the  tree,  about  this  conical  base,  a  number  of  conical  excrescences 
are  sent  up.  which  are  called  cypress  knees;  some  of  them  are  eight 
or  ten  feet  high,  and.  being  hollow,  are  used  for  beehives  and  other 
purposes.  The  long  moss  (tillandsia  asneoides)  makes  its  appear- 
ance on  the  Mississippi  nearly  in  the  same  latitude  with  the  cypress, 
and  almost  covers  a  number  of  trees  before  you  reach  the  Walnut 
hills.  Sweet  bay.  (laurus  barbonia)  magnolia  grandiflora.  This 
most  splendid  and  beautiful  tree  I  do  not  recollect  seeing  above  the 
Walnut  hills,  but  have  no  doubt  of  its  growing  much  further  north. 
It  is  common  through  all  the  rich  lands  of  Natchez,  and  east,  to  the 
Atlantic.  The  foregoing  trees  appear  to  be  confined  either  to  very 
wet  or  very  rich  land,  and  will  be  met  with  in  all  such  places  along 
the  boundary  and  through  West  Florida,  with  the  exception  of  the 
peccan,  sugar  maple,  and  one  or  two  others.  The  katalpa  (bignonia 
katalpa)  is  not  uncommon,  but  appeared  the  most  abundant  on  the 
banks  of  the  Conecuh.  The  nyssa  aquatica  is  common  on  the  Chatta- 
hoochie,  below  the  boundary.  Exclusive  of  those  plants,  which  are 
generally  confined  to  low  or  very  rich  grounds,  the  following  will 
be  met  with  in  various  parts  of  the  country:  Sassafras,  (laurus  sassa- 
fras.) which  grows  to  a  large  size  about  the  Xatchez:  sweet  gum, 
(lequid  amber:)  common  swamp  gum.  (nyssa  integrifolia ; )  holly, 
(ilex  opaca,)  in  great  abundance  in  some  parts  of  the  Mississippi 
Territory,  and  frequently  becomes  a  large  tree;  persimmon,  (dio- 
spyros  Virginiana.)  very  common;  locust,  (robina  pseud-acacea;) 
honey  locust,  (gleditsia  tiraconthus;)  black  walnut,  (juglans  nigra;) 
hickory,  (juglans  hickory,)  of  three  species,  common  to  the  middle 
States:  elm.  (ulmus  Americana:)  dogwood,  (cornus  florida;)  red 
bud.  (cercis  canadensis;)  mulberry,  (moras  rubra:)  wild  plum, 
(prunus  Chickasaw;)  tulip  tree,  (liriodendram  tulipifera;)  white 
oak,  (quercus  alba:)  black  oak.  (quercus  nigra:)  swamp  oak. 
(quercus  aquatica;)  chestnut  oak.  i  quercus  prinus,)  with  several 
other  species  or  varieties:  live  oak.  (quercus  sempervirens:)  this 
very  useful  timber  is  much  confined  to  the  coast,  and  a  short  distance 
from  it :  I  do  not  recollect  seeing  it.  in  any  quantity,  in  West 
Florida,  as  far  north  as  the  boundary.  Eed  cedar,  (juniperus  Vir- 
giniana:) this  is  likewise  much  confined  to  the  coast,  and  is.  in  some 
places,  in  great  abundance:  pine  (pinus)  of  several  species,  the 
quantity  inexhaustible:  buckeye,  (desculus  pavia;)  wild  cherry, 
(prunus  Virginiana;)  great  palmetto,  or  cabbage-tree,  (corypha.  or 
palmetto  of  Walter;)  cassina  yapon.  (ilex  vomitoria  :)  myraca  inadora 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  121 

of  Bartram:  from  the  berry  of  this  shrub  the  green  wax  used  in 
candle  making  is  collected :  these  two  last  are  confined  to  the  coast. 
Beech,  (fagus  ferraginea : )  ehesnut,  (fagus  Americana;)  chincopin, 
(fagus  pumila;)  spice  wood,  (laurus  benzoin:)  Bermudian  mul- 
berry, (callicarpa  Americana:)  cane  (arundo  gigantea  of  Walter) 
extends  through  all  parts  of  the  Mississippi  swamp,  and  occupies 
equally  the  high  as  well  as  the  low  land,  from  the  walnut  hills,  down 
the  river,  to  Point  Coupee,  and,  easterly,  from  15  miles  to  more  than 
20.  The  whole  of  that  high.  rich,  hilly,  and  broken  tract  of  country, 
except  where  the  farms  are  opened,  may  be  considered  as  one  solid 
canebrake,  and  is  almost  impenetrable,  but  will  probably  be  de- 
stroyed in  a  few  years  by  the  cattle,  hogs,  and  fires.  Its  general 
height  is  from  20  to  36  feet,  but  I  have  met  with  it  on  the  tops  of 
several  hills  42  feet  high.  The  small  cane  or  reed  (arundo  tecta  of 
Walter)  begins  to  make  its  appearance  on  the  boundary  about  20 
miles  east  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and,  with  the  arundo  gigantea  or 
large  cane,  will  be  found  on  all  the  creeks  and  river  bottoms  through 
to  the  Atlantic.  The  China  root  (smilax  China)  and  passion  flower 
(passiflora  incarnata)  are  abundant  in  the  rich  grounds.  The  sensa- 
tive  briar  (mimosa  instia)  is  common  to  the  poor  sandy  land.  Sev- 
eral species  of  that  beautiful  and  singular  plant,  the  caracinia,  is 
frequently  met  .with  in  the  margins  of  swamps  and  low  grounds: 
and  three  or  four  handsome  species  of  nymphcea  are  to  be  found  in 
the  ponds  and  still  waters  about  the  rivers.  Along  the  water  courses, 
and  in  the  swamps,  where  the  land  is  good,  several  species  of  well 
tasted  grapes  are  found  in  great  plenty.  Many  of  the  trees  in  the 
swamps  and  low  grounds  are  loaded  with  a  variety  of  vines,  the 
most  conspicuous  of  which  are  the  creeper  or  trumpet-flower  (big- 
nonia  radicans)  and  common  poison  vine  (rims  radicans.) 


BOUNDARY— GEORGIA  AND  FLORIDA. 

Resolutions  of  tht   Legislatun   of  Georgia  on  the  subject  of  the 
Florida  Boundary: 

Ix  Senate. 

The  Committee  on  the  state  of  the  Kepublic,  to  whom  was  referred 
that  part  of  the  Governor's  message  which  relates  to  the  boundary 
line  between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida, 
with  the  accompanying  documents,  have  had  the  same  under  consid- 
eration, and  report : 

That  the  deep  interest  which  the  State  of  Georgia  has  in  the  ques- 
tion of  the  final  and  satisfactory  settlement  of  her  boundaries,  is  such 
as  to  impose  on  her  constituted  authorities  the  duty  of  prosecuting 
the  subject  to  some  final  termination:  and  at  this  time  your  committee 
believe  that  the  constituted  authorities  of  this  State  would  be  liable  to 
the  charge  of  a  dereliction  of  duty  of  her  citizens,  were  they  to  permit 
the  boundary  which  separates  Georgia  from  the  Territory  of  Florida, 
from  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers,  thence  to  the 
head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  to  remain,  as  it  now  does,  unascertained, 
and  not  run  and  marked.     Your  committee,  in  again  presenting  a 


122  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

condensed  view  of  the  subject  referred  to  their  consideration,  will 
purposely  be  very  brief,  as  the  merits  of  the  question  have  been  so 
often  presented  to  the  Federal  Government,  and  particularly  in  the 
report  and  resolutions  agreed  to  by  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
State  on  the  16th  day  of  December.  1828,  which  your  committee  beg 
may  be  referred  to,  as  presenting  most  of  the  evidences  on  which 
Georgia  claims  a  final  settlement  of  the  boundary  line  between  this 
State  and  the  Territory  of  Florida. 

By  referring  to  the  charter  of  Georgia,  which  was  granted  in  the 
year  1732  to  certain  persons,  and  its  surrender  to  the  King  of  Great 
Britain  is  the  year  1752,  by  the  trustees:  and  the  proclamation  of 
1763,  establishing  the  Government  of  East  and  West  Florida,  and  ex- 
tending the  southern  boundary  of  Georgia,  and  the  commission  of 
Governor  Wright,  (at  which  time  both  Georgia  and  Florida  were 
British  colonies  or  provinces,)  dated  the  20th  day  of  January.  17<H: 
the  only  legitimate  inference  from  each  of  the  recited  evidences  is, 
that  the  southern  line  of  Georgia  was  to  run  from  the  most  southern 
btream  of  a  river  St.  Mary's,  and  westward  from  thence,  and.  con- 
sequently, leaving  the  whole  of  the  head  waters  of  that  river  within 
the  boundary  of  Georgia :  and  every  other  public  document  which 
relates  to  the  said  boundary,  either  as  a  boundary  line  of  the  United 
States  or  the  State  of  Georgia,  is  in  palpable  accordance  with  this 
conclusion,  until  the  year  1800. 

In  the  year  1795.  the  Government  of  the  United  State.-  and  Spain 
concluded  a  treaty,  by  the  second  article  of  which  it  was  agreed  that 
q  line  should  begin  from  a  point  at  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and 
Chattahoochie  rivers,  and  to  run  from  thence  to  the  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  river.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  said  treaty,  commissioners 
were  to  be  appointed  to  run  and  plainly  mark  said  line,  and  commis- 
sioners were  accordingly  appointed:  and  in  the  year  1800,  Mr.  Elli- 
cott,  the  commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  the  com- 
missioner on  the  part  of  Spain,  met.  and  attempted  to  run  and  mark 
the  said  line  from  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers 
to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's:  but.  from  causes  which  it  is  now  un- 
necessary to  state  in  detail,  the  line  was  not  run:  but  the  commis- 
sioners fixed  on  a  spot  near  a  branch  of  the  river  St.  Mary's,  and 
erected  a  mound,  and  agreed  that  the  mound  so  erected  by  them  near 
the  Okefenoke  swamp  should  be  taken  as  the  true  head  of  the  St. 
Mary's  river:  and  that  a  line  should  be  run  from  the  junction  of  the 
Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers  to  said  mound,  and  that  it  should  be 
taken  as  the  true  line:  provided,  if  said  line  did  not  pass  within  one 
mile  north  of  said  mound,  it  should  be  correct  to  carry  it  to  that 
distance. 

Your  committee,  after  having  recited  some  of  the  evidences  on 
which  Georgia  claims  that  the  boundary  line  between  this  State  and 
the  Territory  of  Florida  has  not  been  either  finally  or  satisfactorily 
settled,  take' leave  to  state,  that,  until  the  year  1810.  very  little  was 
known  of  the  section  of  country  about  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's 
river:  the  Okefenoke  swamp,  in  which  it  has  its  head,  anterior  to 
that  time,  was  almost  an  impenetrable  wilderness,  and  was  very  little 
known  to  civilized  man:  and  that  the  explorations  made  by  the 
authority  of  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  in  the  year  1818,  were  not 
intended  to  do  more  than  to  collect  information  of  a  part  of  the  lands 
and  boundary  line  of  Georgia:  but,  since  that  time,  the  Indian  right 


[Doc.  No.  43.]  123 

of  occupancy  has  been  extinguished  to  all  of  the  lands  in  this  State, 
from  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers  to  the  head 
of  the  St.  Mary's  river:  and  that  section  of  this  State  is  now  generally 
settled,  and  the  country  generally  known:  it  is  therefore  now" believed 
that  it  will  not  be  dimcult  or  uncertain  to  ascertain  the  true  head  of 
the  St.  Mary's  river.  Your  committee  believe  the  Legislature  will 
not  discharge  a  duty  it  owes  to  the  good  citizens  of  this  State,  without 
once  more  asking  and  requesting  the  Federal  Government  to  co- 
operate in  this  desirable  object,  and  have  the  said  line  plainly  run 
and  marked.  Your  committee  have  too  much  confidence  in  the 
authorities  of  the  General  Government  to  indicate  an  opinion  that  the 
rights  of  Georgia  are  not  attended  to.  from  improper  considerations. 

The  reports  made  to  Congress  by  the  Judiciary  Committee,  to 
whom  the  subject  has  been  referred — one  on  the  21st  day  of  March, 
1828.  and  another  on  the  30th  day  of  January.  1830.  have  been  care- 
fully examined  by  your  committee:  but.  as  the  said  reports  do  not 
contain  any  new  evidence  of  the  claim  on  which  the  United  States 
claim  that  the  mound  erected  by  Mr.  Ellicott  to  be  truly  and  care- 
fully placed  at  or  near  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  they  have 
considered  it  improper  at  this  time  to  make  any  examination  of  the 
conclusions  arrived  at  by  the  arguments  relied  on  in  said  reports. 

In  conclusion,  your  committee  are  satisfied  that  it  is  their  duty  to 
Ante  that,  if  the  question  of  settlement  of  boundary  between  Georgia 
and  the  Territory  of  Florida  is  not  fully  and  finally  settled  under 
the  provisions  of  the  resolutions  which  are  attached  to  this  report, 
no  further  attempts  should  be  made  by  this  State,  in  the  way  now 
sought,  to  effect  the  desirable  object:  but  that  the  question  ought 
t<»  be  carried  for  decision  before  the  proper  judicial  tribunal,  and  to 
effect  the  object  embraced  in  this  report,  your  committee  recommend 
the  adoption  of  the  following  resolutions : 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Legislature  that  the  divid- 
ing line  between  Georgia  and  Florida  ought  to  be  run  from  the 
junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers  to  the  head  of  the 
most  southern  branch  or  head  of  St.  Mary's  river;  and  that  the  said 
line  ought  to  be  marked  without  further  delay. 

Resolved^  That  Congress  be  earnesthT  requested,  as  an  act  of  jus- 
tice, during  its  present  session,  to  repeal,  alter,  or  amend  the  act  of 
the  14th  of  May,  1826,  which  provided  for  the  running  out  and  mark- 
ing the  line  dividing  Georgia  from  the  Territory  of  Florida :  and  to 
make  additional  and  suitable  provisions  for  the  appointment  of 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  to  join  commission- 
ers on  the  part  of  Georgia,  to  run  out  and  plainly  mark  the  dividing 
line  between  the  State  and  the  Territory  of  Florida,  agreeably  to  the 
second  article  of  the  treaty  of  the  27th  of  October.  1795,  between 
the  United  States  and  Spain. 

Resolved,  That,  should  commissioners  be  appointed  on  the  part 
of  the  LTnited  States,  during  the  next  session  of  Congress,  to  meet 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  this  State,  to  run  out  and  mark  the 
dividing  line  between  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida,  that, 
as  soon  as  his  excellency  the  Governor  shall  or  may  be  informed  of 
the  same,  he  be.  and  he  is  hereby  empowered  and  requested  to  appoint, 
without  delay,  a  competent  commissioner,  artist,  or  surveyor,  on  the 
part  of  this  State,  to  meet  the  commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United 
43064— S.  Doc.  467,  60-1 11 


124  [Doc.  No.  43.] 

States;  and  that  he  open  a  correspondence  with  said  commissioner 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  requesting  a  meeting  of  the  com- 
missioners on  the  part  of  this  State  and  the  United  States,  at  the 
earliest  day  convenient,  for  the  purpose  of  discharging  the  duties 
assigned  them  with  the  least  possible  delay. 

Resolved,  That  if  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  and  Georgia  shall  meet  agreeably  to  the  provisions  of  the 
preceding  resolution,  and  shall  fail  to  effect  the  object  of  their  ap- 
pointment, that  it  is  desirable  that  they  report,  and  recommend  terms 
and  conditions  on  which  the  said  disputed  and  unsettled  line  ought 
to  be  fully  and  finally  settled.  If,  therefore,  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment shall  give  authority  to  the  commissioner  appointed  by  said 
Government  to  make  such  recommendations  to  the  said  Government, 
that  his  excellency  the  Governor  be  and  he  is  hereby,  requested  to 
give  to  the  commissioner  on  the  part  of  Georgia  instructions  to  join 
in  such  recommendation,  if  they  should  agree  that  the  same  is  just 
and  proper. 

Resolved,  That,  should  Congress,  at  its  ensuing  session,  refuse  or 
neglect  to  make  provision  for  running  out  and  plainly  marking  the 
said  line,  by  the  appointment  of  a  commissioner  to  meet  the  eoim 
missioner  who  may  be  appointed  on  the  part  of  Georgia,  that  his 
excellency  the  Governor  be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  and  re- 
quested, as  soon  after  the  adjournment  of  the  next  session  of  Con- 
gress as  may  be  consistent,  to  appoint  two  commissioners  and  an 
artist  and  surveyor,  to  meet  as  early  after  their  appointment  as  may 
be  convenient,  and  run  out  and  plainly  mark  the  said  line  dividing 
Georgia  from  the  Territory  of  Florida,  from  the  junction  of  the 
Flint  and  Chattahoochie  rivers  to  the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river, 
agreeably  to  the  second  article  of  the  treaty  between  the  United 
States  and  Spain,  of  the  27th  day  of  October,  1795;  and  that  his 
excellency  the  Governor  do,  in  such  case,  inform  the  President  of 
the  United  States  of  the  time  at  which  the  commissioners  on  the  part 
of  Georgia  will  proceed  to  run  out  and  plainly  mark  said  line. 

Resolved,  That  his  excellency  the  Governor  be  requested  to  for- 
ward a  copy  of  this  report  and  resolutions  to  our  Senators  and 
Representatives  in  Congress,  to  be  by  them  laid  before  Congress  early 
in  the  ensuing  session  with  a  request  that  they  may  use,  in  the  most 
earnest  manner,  every  means  in  their  power  to  get  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  to  meet  Georgia  by  commissioners,  with  full 
power  and  authority  finally  to  settle  this  long  standing  and  unpleas- 
ant controversy. 

Read  and  agreed  to,  November  19th,  1830. 

THOMAS  STOCKS,  President. 
Attest:     Johx  A.  Cuthbert,  Secretary. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives — Read  and  concurred  in. 

ASBURY  HULL,  Speaker. 

Attest:  Wm.  C.  Dawson,  Clerk. 
Approved— 16th  December,  1830. 

GEORGE  R.  GILMER,  Governor. 


23d  Congress,  f"  J)0(<     J^O     J  52  1  Ho.  of  Reps. 

1st  Session.  *J 


DIVIDING  LINE— GEORGIA  AND  FLORIDA. 
[To  accompany  bill  H.  R.  No.  270.] 


March  6,  1834. 

Read  and  referred  to  tbe  Committee  of  the  Whole  House  to  which  is  committed 
the  bill  (H.  R.  No.  270)  " supplementary  to  the  act  entitled  an  act  to  au- 
thorize the  President  of  the  United  States  to  run  and  mark  a  line  dividing 
the  Territory  of  Florida  from.  fh<j  State  of  Georgia:'  passed  May  4,  1820. 


Extract  from  the  annual  message  of  the  Governor  of  the  State  of 
Georgia  to  the  General  Assembly  in  the  year  1831. 

"  The  Congress  of  the  United  States  having  failed,  at  its  last  ses- 
sion, to  accept  the  terms  proposed  by  the  Legislature  for  the  ascer- 
tainment of  the  dividing  line  between  this  State  and  the  Territory 
of  Florida,  I  proceeded  to  cause  that  line  to  be  run  by  two  commis- 
sioners, an  artist  and  surveyor,  as  directed  by  your  resolutions. 
The  President  was  informed  of  the  time  and  place  of  their  meeting 
to  enter  upon  the  discharge  of  this  duty,  and  in  answer  stated  his 
intention  of  laying  the  subject  before  Congress  at  its  next  session. 

"  The  commissioners,  after  the  most  accurate  examination  of  the 
different  streams  which  form  the  river  St.  Mary's,  and  the  surround- 
ing country,  came  to  the  conclusion,  upon  evidence  which  is  be- 
lieved to  be  entirely  satisfactory,  that  the  St.  Mary's,  as  defined  in 
the  treaty  of  1795,  is  to  be  found  at  the  source  of  its  middle  or  west- 
ern branch ;  that  stream  being  longer,  having  more  water,  and  agree- 
ing better  with  contemporaneous  opinion  than  either  of  its  branches. 
The  quantity  of  land  between  the  line  run  by  the  commissioners  and 
that  from  the  junction  of  the  Chattahoochee  and  Flint  rivers,  to  the 
place  designated  by  Ellicott  and  the  Spanish  commissioners  for  the 
head  of  St.  Mary's,  is  one  million  three  hundred  thousand  acres. 
Most  of  it  is  exceedingly  sterile,  but  intersected  occasionally  with 
tracts  of  very  productive  soil.  Much  of  that  which  is  valuable  has 
been  sold  and  granted  by  the  United  States.  It  will  therefore  be 
necessary  for  you  to  have  the  title  tried,  and  direct  the  manner  in 
which  the  territory  is  to  be  disposed  of  if  the  determination  shall  be 
in  favor  of  the  State.'" 


To  his  Excellency  George  R.  Gilmer  : 

Sir:  The  undersigned,  appointed  by  your  Excellency,  agreeably 
to  a  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly,  to  ascertain  the  true  head  of 
the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  thence  to  run  out  and  mark  to  the  junction 
of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochee  rivers  the  boundary  line  between  the 
State  of  Georgia  and  the  Territory  of  Florida,  having  performed 
the  duties  assigned  them,  respectfully  submit  the  following  report  of 
their  proceedings: 


[Gales  &  Seaton.  print.] 


2  [Doc.  No.  152.] 

The  question,  which  is  the  true  head  or  principal  stream  of  the 
St.  Mary's  river,  being,  both  in  point  of  fact  and  general  opinion, 
limited  to  the  three  branches  into  which  it  is  ramified  at  the  distance 
of  about  100  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  which  are  usually  known  as 
the  north,  middle  or  west,  and  south  prongs  of  the  St.  Mary's  river, 
our  examinations  were  directed  and  confined  to  them. 

On  the  18th  of  May  the  expedition  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
north  branch;  and  from  that  time  until  the  8th  of  June  we  were 
engaged  in  examining  it  to  its  confluence  with  the  south  branch ;  the 
latter  to  its  head,  and  the  middle  or  west  branch  from  its  junction 
with  the  north  to  its  source  in  Lake  Randolph.  Accurate  surveys  * 
were  made  by  Mr.  Thomas  of  the  north  and  middle  branches ;  and  he 
would  have  been  directed  to  execute  one  of  the  south  branch,  had 
not  that  work  been  already  performed  by  the  late  Mr.  McBride,  and 
had  it  not  been  found,  by  a  general  examination  of  that  stream, 
unnecessary,  in  order  to  decide  on  the  true  head  of  the  river,  and  im- 
prudent, from  the  advanced  state  of  the  season  and  the  ill  health  of 
the  party. 

The  discharges  of  water,  and  the  areas  of  the  channels,!  whenever 
a  comparative  examination  was  deemed  requisite,  were  ascertained 
with  care  and  exactness  by  Mr.  Camak.  who,  in  the  selection  and 
number  of  the  points  of  observation,  and  in  the  repetition  of  the 
experiments,  avoided,  as  far  as  practicable,  the  sources  of  error 
arising  from  partial  circumstances. 

The  scientific  attainments  and  habitual  accuracy  of  the  latter  gen- 
tleman, and  the  skill,  experience,  and  fidelity  of  the  former,  have 
ensured  that  full  and  able  discharge  of  the  labors  entrusted  to  them, 
which  was  to  have  been  anticipated:  and  in  submitting  the  results 
to  your  Excellency,  it  is  done  with  the  strongest  assurance  of  their 
accuracy. 

In  addition  to  the  operations  of  the  artist  and  surveyor,  a  minute 
and  extensive  examination,  aided  by  the  best  local  guides,  and  all 
the  information  which  was  accessible,  was  made  as  far  as  it  was 
deemed  necessary,  in  order  to  decide  on  the  relative  importance  of 
the  three  branches,  their  tributary  streams,  the  swamps  connected 
with  them,  and  of  the  general  features  of  the  surrounding  country. 

The  examinations  were  made  under  circumstances  the  most  favor- 
able for  accuracy,  as,  during  the  time  occupied  in  them,  there  was  no 
rain,  and  none  had  occurred  from  the  middle  of  April1.  About  that 
time,  a  storm  of  unusual  violence  and  extent  had  raised  all  the 
watercourses  throughout  the  southern  part  of  Georgia  and  Florida 
to  an  almost  unprecedented  height ;  and  from  that  time  to  our  ar- 
rival, the  waters  of  the  St.  Mary's  had  been  gradually  subsiding, 
and  were  then  in  a  state  lower  than  their  usual  average  height. 

A  small  drain,  called  the  Hog-pen  branch,  having  been  pointed  out 
as  the  longest  of  those  which  form  the  north  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's 
river,  the  survey  and  examination  of  that  stream  were  commenced  at 
its  head. 

The  general  course  of  the  north  branch,  from  the  source  of  the 
Hog-pen  branch  to  Ellicott's  mound  B,  a  distance  of  6J  miles,  is 
something  south  of  west ;  half  a  mile  further  it  becomes  nearly  south, 


*  See  the  accompanying  chart  (A). 

t  See  the  report  of  scientific  observations   (B) 


[Doc.  Xo.  152.]  3 

and  that  direction  is  kept  for  three  miles,  when,  after  receiving  the 
Alligator  creek,  which  falls  into  it  from  the  west,  the  stream  pur- 
sues a  S.  S.  E.  course  to  its  confluence  with  the  middle  branch,  19f 
miles  from  its  head.  The  country  lying  to  the  south,  from  the  head 
of  the  Hog-pen  branch  to  the  Alligator  creek,  is  a  low  pine  barren 
of  unusual  flatness,  and  almost  covered  with  a  net-work  of  cypress 
glades,  savannahs,  ponds,  and  bays.  It  occupies  a  space  of  about 
seven  miles  in  length  by  three  in  breadth,  and  discharges  its  redun- 
dant waters  into  the  north  branch  by  several  shallow  drains,  the  most 
extensive  of  which,  known  as  the  river  of  Sticks,  has  by  some  per- 
sons been  erroneously  supposed  to  be  the  principal  stream  of  the 
north  branch.  From  the  lowness  and  flatness  of  the  land  of  this  sec- 
tion, its  surface  passes  alternately  from  the  extremes  of  wet  to  those 
•  of  dryness :  being  either,  during  seasons  of  heavy  rains,  a  continued 
sheet  of  water,  or,  on  the  occurrence  of  a  drought,  a  thirsty  plain. 

To  the  north  of  the  branch,  for  the  distance  of  one  and  a  half  miles 
west  from  its  head,  the  country  is  a  low,  level,  pine  barren;  it  then 
changes  into  an  extensive  cypress  swamp,  which  was  traced  in  a  X. 
N.  E.  direction  for  ten  or  twelve  miles,  without  arriving  at  its  termi- 
nation. The  channel  of  the  branch  passes  through  the  southern  skirt 
of  this  swamp,  which  is  here  a  cypress  flat,  for  a  distance  of  five  miles, 
when  the  swamp  recedes  from  it  to  the  north  and  west,  and  leaves  an 
intermediate  strip  of  low  pine  land,  varying  in  width  from  one  to 
two  miles,  through  which  several  small  drains  and  narrow  bays  pass, 
connecting  the  swamp  for  a  further  distance  of  one  and  a  half  miles 
with  the  north  branch. 

Below  this  point  no  further  connexion  exists,  and  the  pine  land 
becomes  more  elevated,  until,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below  the  old  Indian 
crossing  place,  the  Pine  log.  it  again  sinks  at  the  junction  of  the 
Alligator  creek  with  the  north  branch. 

As  the  opinion  has.  within  a  few  years,  been  held  by  many  persons. 
that  the  St.  Mary's  river  is  unconnected  by  any  of  its  branches  with 
the  Okefenokee  swamp:  and  as  the  connexion,  if  any.  must  exist  at 
this  part  of  the  north  branch,  our  examinations  were  particularly 
directed  to  ascertain  whether  the  swamp,  which  we  had  found  to  com- 
municate with  it.  was  separated  by  any  dividing  ridge  from  that 
which  is  usually  known  as  the  Okefenokee.  For  this  purpose  the  best 
local  guides  were  procured,  among  whom  were  two  who  had  pre- 
viously believed  in  the  existence  of  such  ridge,  and  beginning  at  the 
Hog-pen  branch,  the  swamp  communicating  with  it.  and  lying  to  the 
north,  was  twice  carefully  examined  along  its  eastern  border,  for  a 
distance  of  about  ten  miles,  in  search  of  some  opening  by  which  it 
might  be  passed  :  none  however  could  be  found ;  and.  as  it  grew  deeper 
and  more  impervious,  the  farther  it  was  traced,  and  terminated  in 
what  is  popularly  known  as  the  Okefenokee.  the  pursuit  in  this  direc- 
tion was  abandoned.  The  next  object  of  inquiry  was  to  ascertain 
whether  a  ridge  was  to  be  found  between  the  Okefenokee  and  the 
swamp  mentioned  as  communicating  by  small  drains  with  the  north 
branch.  Commencing  at  the  southern  edge  of  the  swamp,  it  was 
traced  with  care  to  the  north  and  east,  for  about  seven  miles,  to  its 
termination  at  the  point  where  the  principal  channel  of  the  branch 
enters  it.  without  the  discovery  of  any  passage.  As  the  north  branch 
passes  through  the  five  miles  of  swamp  intermediate  between  the 


4  [Doc.  Xo.  152.] 

points  examined,  it  appears  that  it  is  in  fact  connected  with  a  swamp, 
the  border  of  which  was  examined  for  a  distance  of  twenty-two  miles. 
without  finding  any  opening  or  dividing  ridge.  This  swamp  having 
always  been  known  as  the  Okefenokee.  the  conclusion  seems  to  be 
irresistible  that  the  north  branch  communicates,  as  has  generally 
been  supposed,  with  the  Okefenokee  swamp. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  connexion  which  seems  thus  to  be 
established,  the  north  branch  does  not  appear  to  be  the  drain  of  any 
considerable  portion  of  this  swamp:  but.  in  skirting  it  to  the  south 
and  east,  to  receive  the  waters  of  its  extreme  border  only.  This 
opinion  is  founded  upon  the  facts  that  the  principal  channel  of  the 
north  branch  penetrates  but  a  short  distance  into  the  swamp :  and  that 
the  connecting  drains  are  narrow  and  shallow,  and  rapidly  diminish 
in  size  to  their  origin  from  the  swamp,  where  all  traces  of  a  channel 
soon  cease.  The  small  size  of  the  north  branch,  below  the  drains,  and 
the  circumstance  that  they  and  it  not  unfrequently  go  dry.  are  also 
inconsistent  with  the  belief  that  any  large  portion  of  the  swamp  is 
drained  by  this  stream.  This  is  rendered  the  less  probable  by  the 
well  establish  fact,  that  the  Suwanee  river  forms  the  great  drain  of 
the  Okefenokee:  that,  rising  in  the  pine  lands  of  "Ware  county,  to  the 
north  of  that  swamp,  it  runs  nearly  through  the  centre  of  it,  receiv- 
ing creeks  of  considerable  size  during  its  passage,  and  that  it  flows  out 
from  its  southwest  corner:  a  river,  having  usually  a  width  of  forty 
yards  and  a  depth  of  three  feet,  with  a  current  of  considerable  rapid- 
ity, contrasting  strongly  with  the  ordinarily  diminutive  stream  of  the 
north  branch  of  the  St.  Mary's. 

The  exact  extent  of  swamp  between  these  two  rivers,  we  had  no 
means  of  ascertaining:  but  the  probability  is  that  it  does  not  exceed 
ten  miles,  the  half  of  which,  at  least,  may  be  supposed  to  vent  its 
waters  down  the  Suwanee.  The  Okefenokee.  instead  of  one  deep  and 
continued  swamp,  broken  only  by  a  few  islands,  as  has  been  generally 
supposed,  being,  in  fact,  an  immense  net-work  of  bays,  ponds,  and 
swamps,  with  intervening  islands  of  very  low  pine  lands,  which  to- 
gether form  a  chain  of  swamps  rather  than  a  single  one.  it  is  highly 
probable  that  in  so  extensive  a  morass  slight  elevations,  scarcely  ap- 
preciable to  the  eye.  may  divide  its  waters,  and  cause  them  to  flow 
in  different  directions.  While  the  character  of  the  swamp  is.  there- 
fore, favorable  to  the  belief  that  such  a  division  exists,  as  to  cause 
a  small  part  of  its  waters  to  flow  into  the  north  branch  of  the  St. 
Mary's  river,  it  is  at  the  same  time  adverse  to  the  opinion  that  at  any 
point  a  high  dividing  ridge  passes  through  it. 

Notwithstanding  the  fruitlessness  of  our  researches,  we  would  not 
be  understood  to  assert  that  the  great  body  of  the  Okefenokee  is  not 
separated  by  high  land  from  the  extensive  swamp  which  we  ex- 
amined: it  may.  however,  be  safely  advanced  that  there  is  no  positive 
evidence  of  the  fact,  and  that  the  existence  or  non-existence  of  such 
a  division  is  very  immaterial  to  the  subject  of  inquiry,  which  is, 
whether  there  is  a  connexion  between  the  north  branch  of  the  St. 
Mary's  river  and  a  large  swamp  usually  known  as  the  Okefenokee; 
and  not  whether  that  has  at  any  point  a  ridge  of  high  land  running 
through  it.  The  negative  evidence  is.  however,  of  some  weight.  The 
Indians  on  their  journeys  from  the  country  lying  to  the  southwest  of 
the  Okefenokee  swamp,  to  St.  Mary's,  used  the  trail  which  skirts  the 
swamp  to  the  south,  and  crossed  the  north  branch  at  the  Pine  log, 


[Doc.  No.  152.]  5 

leaving  that  part  of  the  stream  which  we  found  connected  with  the 
swamp  to  the  left.  Had  a  high  dividing  ridge  existed,  is  it  likely  that 
it  would  have  been  unknown  to  them;  and  that  they  would  not  have 
availed  themselves  of  it  to  shorten  their  journeys?  This  section  of 
country  has.  moreover,  been  long  pastured  by  large  droves  of  cattle ; 
and  it  is  Avell  known  how  sagacious  these  animals  are  in  discovering 
passages  through  swamps,  wherever  practicable:  yet  Mr.  Barber  and 
others,  although  annually  engaged  in  herding  stock  in  this  very  dis- 
trict of  country,  have,  in  the  minute  searches  required  in  this  pur- 
suit, been  led  bjT  no  trail  to  the  discovery  of  such  a  ridge.  Mr.  Dyall, 
who  was  reported  to  have  a  knowledge  of  the  ridge,  when  questioned, 
said  that  by  it  he  meant,  and  others  with  whom  he  had  conversed  on 
the  subject  also  meant,  nothing  more  than  that,  during  a  season  of 
great  drought,  a  dry  passage  might  be  found  between  the  north 
branch  and  the  swamp,  across  the  small  drains  already  described  as 
connecting  the  two.  and  through  the  cypress  swamp  beyond  them. 
Of  this  we  entertain  no  doubt :  and  the  probability  is  that  in  some 
such  misapplication  of  language  the  reported  existence  of  a  dividing 
ridge  has  originated. 

The  Alligator  creek,  which  unites  with  the  north  branch  ten  and  a 
quarter  miles  below  the  head  of  Hog-pen  branch,  and  nine  and  a  half 
miles  above  the  middle  branch,  is  its  principal  tributary  stream.  It 
is  inferior  in  size  to  the  north  branch ;  and  on  the  20th  of  May,  the 
volume  of  water  discharged  from  it.  per  minute,  at  the  point  of  junc- 
tion, was  Soft  cubic  feet,  while  that  of  the  latter  was  845  cubic  feet. 
Xo  survey  was  made  of  this  creek;  but.  from  a  general  examination 
and  information  obtained,  it  was  found  to  extend  in  a  west  direction 
from  eight  to  ten  miles,  and  to  pass  along  the  border  of  the  Oke- 
fenokee  swamp  to  the  south,  in  the  same  way  as  the  north  branch 
does. 

From  the  Alligator  creek  to  the  middle  branch,  the  country  through 
which  the  north  branch  passes  is  moderately  elevated:  and  several 
small  branches  occur,  none  of  which,  however,  are  worthy  of  any 
notice,  as  their  usual  length  is  only  from  one  to  three  miles.  In 
approaching  the  point  of  junction  with  the  middle  branch,  the  north 
bianch  rapidly  increases  in  size.  The  occurrence  here  of  ravines,  or 
waterways,  parallel  to.  and  communicating  with,  the  principal  chan- 
nel, together  with  masses  of  driftwood,  both  on  the  banks  and  across 
the  bed  of  the  stream,  show  that  during  the  highest  freshets  the 
water  spreads  out  over  the  adjoining  land:  and  that  at  such  times  it 
assumes  the  character  of  a  torrent,  and  discharges  a  large  volume  of 
water.  These  indications  of  a  great  occasional  discharge  form  a 
strong  contrast  with  the  small  quantity  of  water  usually  passing 
down  its  channel:  an  alternative,  however,  from  the  fullness  of  the 
torrent  to  the  scantiness  of  the  rill,  which  is  the  necessary  effect  of 
the  flat  and  low  country  from  which  its  waters  are  principally  de- 
rived, and  of  the  circumstance  that  its  branches  are  nearly  equal  in 
length,  and  radiate  as  it  were  from  a,  common  centre. 

From  the  first  cause  it  happens,  but  little  rain  being  required  to 
saturate  the  ground,  that  the  great  body  of  it  runs,  immediately  as  it 
falls,  into  the  branches,  and  swells  them  for  a  short  time  to  a  great 
size.  When,  however,  this  flood  has  passed  off.  and  the  surface  mois- 
ture has  evaporated,  which  soon  takes  place  when  a  thin  sheet  of 
water  is  freely  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun,  no  spring  existing,  the 


6  [Doc.  No.  152.; 

only  permanent  supply  is  reduced  to  the  scanty  percolations  from 
ponds  and  swamps.  The  tendency  of  the  depressed  surface  of  the 
country  to  produce  sudden  and  temporary  rises  of  water,  is  much 
increased  by  the  comparative  equality  in  length,  and  the  opposite 
courses  of  the  two  principal  streams  which  form  the  north  branch. 
The  rain  which  falls  on  the  low  districts  drained  by  them,  arriv- 
ing almost  simultaneously  at  their  point  of  confluence,  produces  a 
temporary  glut,  which  could  not  occur  to  the  same  extent  where  a 
single  stream  of  greater  length  drains  an  equal  surface  of  country. 
In  the  latter  case,  the  water  from  the  lower  districts  being  partially 
discharged  before  that  from  the  upper  can  come  down,  the  rise  in  the 
stream,  although  of  longer  continuance,  will  at  no  time  be  so  great. 

The  channel  of  the  north  branch,  immediately  above  its  union  with 
the  middle  branch,  has  an  average  depth  from  the  top  of  the  banks 
of  about  10  feet,  with  an  average  section  the  area  of  which  is  464 
square  feet.  On  the  26th  of  May,  14  feet  only  of  this  space  were 
occupied  by  the  current  of  water;  which,  flowing  with  a  mean  ve- 
locity of  66  feet  per  minute,  discharged  during  the  same  time  950 
cubic  feet  of  water.  The  extent  of  country  drained  by  this  branch 
may  be  estimated  at  about  174  miles.  This  calculation,  which  is 
founded  on  the  lengths  of  the  watercourses,  and  the  average  breadth 
of  the  country  drained  by  them,  is  without  that  precision  which  can 
only  be  obtained  by  a  minute  and  extensive  survey  of  the  whole 
country:  it  is,  however,  believed  to  be  a  tolerably  near  approxima- 
tion to  the  truth ;  and,  as  the  same  principles  are  adopted  with  respect 
to  the  other  branches,  the  error,  whatever  it  may  be,  will  not  affect 
the  correctness  of  the  comparison. 

The  middle  or  west  branch  forms  the  drain  of  the  country  lying  to 
the  south  of  the  Okefenokee  swamp,  and  between  it  and  the  south 
branch :  it  rises  farther  to  the  west  than  any  other  of  the  head  waters 
of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  and  has  its  source  in  Lake  Randolph,  usually 
known  as  the  Ocean  pond.  This  lake  is  a  sheet  of  clear  water,  nearly 
circular,  two  miles  in  diameter,  and  with  an  average  depth  of  from 
8  to  10  feet.  The  surrounding  country  is  elevated  but  a  few  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  lake,  and  drains  into  it  for  several  miles,  except 
to  the  southeast  and  south,  when  the  head  waters  of  the  Oaluskee,  a 
tributary  of  the  Santa  Fe.  approach  to  within  a  mile.  The  redundant 
waters  of  the  lake  are  discharged  into  the  middle  branch  by  several 
drains  which,  with  the  intervening  morass,  occupy  a  portion  of  the 
border  of  nearly  a  mile  in  length.  At  their  points  of  connexion  with 
the  lake  these  drains  are  deep  and  wide;  they,  however,  gradually 
diminish  in  size ;  and  at  the  distance  of  two  and  three-quarters  miles, 
after  having  previously  united  into  one  stream,  the  branch  formed 
by  them  leaves  a  deep  cypress  swamp,  which  extends  from  the  lake 
to  that  point,  and,  passing  by  a  shallow  channel,  varying  in  width 
from  50  to  100  feet,  through  a  low  pine  barren,  it  enters  Gum  swamp 
five  miles  from  the  lake.  Between  the  2d  and  5th  of  June,  when 
our  examination  was  made,  there  was  water  in  the  channel,  and  a 
perceptible  current  from  the  lake  to  the  termination  of  the  cypress 
swamp.  Thence  to  the  Gum  swamp  the  channel  was  dry.  and  at  the 
latter  point  the  water  was  again  found  to  flow.  On  the  16th  of 
August,  when  the  expedition  returned  to  this  point,  a  stream  of 
water  from  30  to  40  feet  wide  and  6  inches  deep  was  found  flowing 
with  a  brisk  current  through  that  part  of  the  channel  which  had 


[Doc.  No.  152.]  7 

previously  been  dry.  Gum  swamp,  through  which  the  middle  branch 
passes  for  ten  miles,  is  a  deep  and  extensive  swamp,  connected  to 
the  west  with  a  long  chain  of  ponds  and  swamps,  which  are  said  to 
reach  to  within  ten  miles  of  the  Suwanee  river.  The  drain  by  which 
these  waters  are  discharged  into  the  middle  branch,  was  followed  up 
for  several  miles,  until  it  was  found  to  end  in  a  shallow  swamp. 
After  leaving  Gum  swamp,  the  country,  which  from  Lake  Randolph 
is  flat  and  low,  becomes  gradually  higher,  and  a  number  of  small, 
clear,  running  branches  fall  into  the  middle  branch.  Little  river,  a 
bold  creek,  flows  into  it  about  26  miles  below  Lake  Randolph,  and  is 
its  principal  tributary;  in  size  it  is  about  one-third  of  the  branch,  and 
was  reported  to  extend  about  6  miles  in  a  northwest  direction. 
From  this  point  to  the  junction  of  the  middle  with  the  north  branch, 
which  is  33  miles  from  the  head  of  the  lake,  the  country  becomes  still 
higher,  and  is  intersected  with  several  small  branches.  On  approach- 
ing the  confluence  of  these  two  streams,  the  water  channels,  driftwood, 
and  other  indications  of  a  large  discharge  of  water,  previously  de- 
scribed, are  to  be  met  with  on  this  branch.  In  these  respects,  and  in 
general  size,  the  two  streams  are  so  nearly  alike,  that  their  compara- 
tive superiority  is  to  the  unassisted  eye  a  matter  of  doubt.  Resorting 
to  measurement,  the  channel  of  this  branch  immediately  above  the 
junction  was  found  to  have  an  average  sectional  area  of  493  square 
feet,  of  which  the  water  occupied  only  20  feet.  The  volume  of  water 
discharged  on  the  26th  of  May  was  1,584  cubic  feet,  and  the  mean 
velocity  of  the  current  78  feet  per  minute.  The  country  drained  by 
it  and  its  tributaries  may  be  estimated  at  250  square  miles.  If  with 
these  data  the  north  is  compared  with  the  middle  branch,  it  will  be 
perceived  that  the  latter  is  superior  to  the  former  in  length,  surface 
of  country  drained,  volume  of  water  discharged,  and  sectional  area 
of  channel ;  the  first  being  as  33  to  19f ,  the  second  as  250  to  1-74,  the 
third  as  1,584  to  950.  and  the  last  as  493  to  464.  That  the  same  rela- 
tive difference  does  not  exist  in  the  last  circumstance  as  in  the  others, 
may  be  explained  on  the  principle  that,  in  a  country  of  a  loose  and 
friable  soil,  the  size  of  the  channel  is  dependent  on  the  greatest,  and 
not  on  the  habitual  discharge  of  water.  It  has  already  been 
attempted  to  show  why  the  north  branch,  being  more  central  to  the 
district  which  it  drains,  should,  in  discharging  the  same  quantity  of 
water,  effect  it  in  a  shorter  time  and  in  a  greater  volume,  than 
another  stream,  which,  like  the  middle  branch,  although  draining  a 
more  extensive  tract  of  country,  is  yet  longer,  and  passes  through  a 
region  of  greater  elevation. 

The  conclusion  to  which  we  arrived,  of  the  superiority  of  the  middle 
branch,  is  supported  bj  the  concurrent  belief  of  the  most  intelligent 
inhabitants  of  the  country,  who  coincide,  without  exception,  as  far 
as  our  inquiries  extended,  in  the  opinion  that  although  partial  rains 
affect  the  relative  sizes  of  the  two,  yet  the  middle  branch  does  ordi- 
narily, and  during  the  course  of  the  year,  discharge  much  more  water 
than  the  north,  and  is  in  fact  the  larger  stream.  Having  been  led 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  middle  branch  is  larger  than  the  north,  the 
next  object  of  inquiry  was  whether  the  stream  formed  by  their 
united  waters  was  inferior  or  superior  to  the  south  branch. 

After  the  confluence  of  the  two  branches,  the  river  formed  by  them, 
which  we  shall  designate  as  the  north  branch,  winds  by  a  very  circuit- 
ous course  through  a  countrv  of  somewhat  increasing  elevation,  for  a 


8  [Doc.  No.  152.] 

distance  of  llf  miles  to  its  junction  with  the  south  branch,  receiving 
in  its  progress  several  small  streams,  none  of  which  are  worthy  of 
notice  except  Cedar  creek,  which  enters  into  it  from  the  right  bank 
5|  miles  below  the  middle  branch,  and  a  short  distance  above  Elli- 
cott:s  mound  of  observation  A.  This  creek  drains  the  country  lying 
between  the  north  and  middle  branches,  and  is  about  1*2  miles  in 
length.  The  channel  of  the  north  branch  throughout  this  distance 
is  much  obstructed  by  driftwood,  and  exhibits  strong  evidence  of  a 
great  and  unequal  discharge  of  water.  Bars  of  sand  are  thrown  up, 
and  deep  holes  scooped  out  in  continued  succession  along  the  whole 
length  of  the  channel,  producing  alternately  expanses  of  deep  and 
sluggish  water,  or  shallow  and  rapid  currents.  At  a  short  distance 
above  the  confluence  of  the  south  branch,  the  average  of  three  sections 
of  the  channel  of  the  north  gave  an  area  of  763  square  feet,  of  which 
37|-  only  were  occupied  by  water.  At  the  same  point,  on  the  20th 
of  May.  the  mean  velocity  of  the  current  was  105  feet  per  minute,  and 
the  volume  of  water  discharged  was  3.957  cubic  feet.  The  surface 
of  country  drained  by  the  north  and  middle  branches,  the  united 
waters  of  which,  together  with  that  by  Cedar  creek,  here  form  the 
north  branch,  may  be  estimated  at  546  square  miles. 

The  south  branch  is  a  stream  widely  differing  in  its  general  charac- 
ter and  appearance  from  those  which  we  have  already  described.  Its 
waters,  instead  of  the  warmth  and  brown  color  of  those  of  the  north 
and  middle  branches,  which  show  that  the}7  have  been  derived  from 
the  low  lands,  swamps,  and  ponds,  were,  at  the  time  of  our  examina- 
tion, cold  and  clear,  indicating  their  origin  to  have  been  in  the  sorings 
of  a  more  elevated  country.  Its  narrow  channel,  uniformity  of  bed, 
and  velocity  of  water,  and  the  comparative  absence  of  driftwood 
and  ravines,  are  all  proofs  of  a  stream  more  uniform  in  its  discharge 
of  water,  and  less  sitbject  to  sudden  and  great  alternations  than  the 
north  branch.  The  causes  of  this  difference  are  readily  found  in 
the  undulating  surface  and  elevation  of  the  country  through  which 
it  passes  for  the  greater  part  of  its  course,  particularly  that  portion 
of  it  which  lies  near  its  mouth,  and  to  the  south.  This  formation, 
which  abounds  in  small  spring  branches,  extends  about  two-thirds 
of  its  whole  course.  In  ascending  this  branch,  it  rapidly  diminishes 
in  size,  and  within  five  miles  of  its  mouth  the  channel  is  so  narrow 
that  trees  of  a  moderate  size  interlock  across  it.  Above  Turkey  creek, 
which  is  about  eight  or  ten  miles  from  the  junction,  it  becomes  a 
very  inconsiderable  stream,  with  a  narrow  and  shallow  channel,  and 
a  run  of  water  so  small  as  to  admit  of  being  easily  straddled.  Turkey 
creek,  which  is  the  most  important  of  the  streams  falling  into  this 
branch:  has  its  source  from  six  to  eight  miles  to  the  south  ;  its  channel 
is  in  size  about  one-fourth  of  that  of  the  south  branch,  notwithstand- 
ing which  inferiority,  the  volume  of  water  passing  down  it  was  on 
the  30th  of  May  175  cubic  feet,  while  that  from  the  latter  did  not 
exceed  113  per  minute. 

About  sixteen  miles  from  its  mouth,  the  running  water  of  this 
branch  was  diminished  to  a  stream  a  foot  in  width,  with  a  depth  of 
a  few  inches,  oozing  through  a  bed  of  moss  and  grass  which  ob- 
structed a  shallow  channel  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  wide,  and  two 
deep:  at  a  mile  above,  the  channel  was  dry  and  dusty:  immediately 
beyond  the  latter  point,  the  country  becomes  low.  and  the  channel  of 
the  stream  is  lost  in  a  chain  of  swamps,  bays,  and  ponds,  which,  after 


[Doc.  No.  152.]  9 

diverging  from  each  other,  and  covering  the  country  for  a  distance 
of  nine  or  ten  miles  with  their  various  ramifications,  reunite  a  short 
distance  from  Lake  Spalding,  and  communicate  with  it  by  a  narrow 
and  shallow  channel.  This  channel  was  at  the  period  of  our  exami- 
nation quite  dry.  and,  from  its  size  and  the  general  indications 
around,  the  current  of  water  passing  down  it  must,  during  even  the 
most  rainy  seasons  of  the  year,  be  small.  Lake  Spalding,  which  by  a 
traverse  was  ascertained  to  lie  between  four  and  five  miles  to  the 
S.  S.  E.  of  Lake  Bandolph,  resembles  the  latter  in  its  general  appear- 
ance, with  water  however  less  clear,  the  surrounding  land  more 
swampy,  and  a  surface  of  small  extent.  As  no  instrumental  survey 
was  made  of  this  branch  during  the  expedition,  the  distances  given 
have  been  taken  either  from  Mr.  McBride's  chart,  or  on  those  which 
are  received  as  the  true  ones  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbor- 
hood. Assuming  the  total  length  to  be  thirty  miles,  as  stated  by  Mr. 
McBride.  the  surface  of  country  drained  by  it  may  be  estimated  at 
two  hundred  and  twenty- two  square  miles.  The  mean  of  three  sec- 
tions of  the  channel,  near  its  junction  with  the  north  branch,  gave  an 
area  of  four  hundred  and  twenty  square  feet,  twenty  of  which  were 
only  occupied  by  water.  The  mean  velocity  of  the  stream  was.  on 
the  29th  of  May.  71  feet  per  minute,  and  the  volume  of  water  dis- 
charged during  the  same  time  was  1,450  cubic  feet.  Instituting  a 
comparison  between  the  north  and  south  branches,  it  appears  that 
the  former  is  to  the  latter  in  length,  from  the  head  of  the  middle 
branch  to  the  confluence,  without  including  the  north  branch  proper, 
and  excluding  also  Cedar  creek,  as  44f  miles  to  30.  in  surface  of 
country  drained  as  546  miles  to  222,  in  volume  of  water  discharged 
as  3,957  cubic  feet  to  1,450.  and  in  sectional  area  of  channel  as  763 
square  feet  to  430.  A  superiority  in  reference  to  every  criterion  of 
size  so  very  great  and  manifest  as  to  admit  of  no  doubt  in  arriving  at 
a  decision  unfavorable  to  the  south  branch. 

It  will  be  perceived,  on  reference  to  Mr.  McBride's  report  of  the 
examinations  made  by  him  in  July,  1826,  that  a  difference  exists 
between  the  comparative  discharges  of  water  by  the  two  streams,  as 
observed  by  him  and  ourselves ;  the  volume  of  water  from  the  north 
branch  being  at  that  time  only  993  cubic  feet,  while  from  the  south 
it  was  1,369  per  minute.  The  discrepancy  is  however  not  at  all 
surprising,  when  it  is  recollected  that  he  visited  this  region  during  a 
period  of  extraordinary  drought,  at  a  time  when,  the  surface  waters 
of  the  country  being  dried  up,  the  south  branch,  from  the  greater 
number  of  spring  branches  flowing  into  it.  might  be  expected  to 
contain  a  larger  mass  of  water.  It  is  also  possible  that  the  relative 
size  of  the  streams  might  have  been  influenced  by  a  greater  fall  of 
rain  on  the  country  drained  by  the  south  branch,  at  a  period  not  very 
remote  from  that  of  his  examination.  These  disturbing  causes,  with 
others,  render  any  comparison  of  the  two  streams,  which  is  founded 
exclusively  in  a  few  observations  of  the  quantity  of  water  discharged 
by  them,  so  very  fallacious,  as  to  be  of  no  value  unless  the  measure- 
ments are  made  under  very  favorable  circumstances,  and  then  the 
results  are  to  be  regarded  only  as  facts  useful  as  accessories,  but, 
separately,  inconclusive. 

The  examinations  of  the  three  branches  having  resulted  in  the  con- 
clusion that  the  middle  or  west  was  the  true  head  of  the  St.  Mary's 
river,  we  decided  on  a  point  on  the  southern  border  of  Lake  Kan- 


10  [Doc.  No.  152.] 

dolph  as  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  boundary  line.  Our  reasons 
for  this  selection  were,  that  this  point  is  in  the"  general  direction  of 
the  stream,  opposite  to  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  and  that  a  line  con- 
necting the  two  divides  the  lake  into  two  equal  parts;  thus  corre- 
sponding with  the  conditions  of  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain  of  1783.  and  of  that  with  Spain  of  1795.  both  of  which  define 
the  course  of  the  boundary  line  between  Georgia  and  Florida  to  be""  to 
the  head  of  the  St.  Mary's  river ;  and  thence,  down  along  the  middle 
of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean." 

From  this  point  the  guide  or  random  line  was  commenced  on  the 
8th  of  June,  and,  owing  to  the  daily  occurrence  of  rain,  was  only 
finished  on  the  18th  of  July.  On  the  latter  day  the  true  line  was 
begun  at  the  extreme  point  of  the  tongue  of  land  between  the  Flint 
and  Chattahoochie  rivers,  which  is  well  defined,  and  terminated  on 
the  16th  of  August  at  the  point  selected  on  Lake  Randolph.  The 
course  of  the  line  from  the  junction  of  the  Flint  and  Chattahoochie 
rivers  is  south  77°  49'  32"  east,  subject  to  a  correction  of  1°  11'  50", 
to  be  subtracted  from  the  south,  to  rectify  the  deviation  of  the  rhomb 
line  from  the  arc  of  a  great  circle,  being  nearly  29"  per  mile.  The 
length  of  the  line  was  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  miles.  The 
whole  was  distinctly  marked,  the  line  trees  lettered,  and  the  distance 
noted  on  the  trees,  with  the  exception  of  that  part  of  it  which  lies 
between  the  seventy-fifth  and  eighty-second  miles,  from  the  western 
extremity,  and  another  interval  of  one  and  a  fourth  mile,  about  the 
sixty-ninth  mile.  These  sections  lying  through  an  almost  imper- 
vious morass,  and  containing  at  the  time  a  depth  of  from  three  to 
four  feet  of  stagnant  and  almost  putrid  water,  could  only  have  been 
run  and  marked  at  the  imminent  risk  of  the  lives  of  the  party,  then 
diseased  and  nearly  broken  down  by  their  long  continued  exposure, 
during  a  sickly  season,  to  incessant  rams,  a  tropical  heat,  and  all  the 
difficulties  of  a  country  peculiarly  unfavorable  for  such  operations. 
The  omission  was  submitted  to  with  the  less  reluctance,  as.  from  the 
general  absence  of  trees,  the  course  of  the  line  could  scarcely  have 
been  marked,  and  the  character  of  this  section  forbids  the  idea  of 
its  ever  being  reclaimed  from  its  present  state.  Should  it  however 
be  deemed  necessary,  the  deficiency  may,  at  a  more  favorable  season, 
be  supplied  by  a  common  surveyor,  who  will  only  have  to  connect 
two  distinctly  marked  points.  By  the  present  selection  of  the  east- 
ern extremity  of  the  boundary  line,  the  territory  embraced  within  the 
limits  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  beyond  that  which  it  would  contain 
if  the  point  designated  by  Ellicott  were  established,  is  about  two 
thousand  square  miles,  or  nearly  1.300,000  acres,  being  a  triangle, 
the  north  side  of  which  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  miles 
long,  the  southeast  twenty-nine  and  a  quarter,  and  the  southwest 
one  hundred  and  forty-eight.  The  territory  embraced  within  these 
limits  is.  in  proportion  to  its  extent,  of  very  little  agricultural 
value.  That  portion  which  lies  about  the  head  streams  of  the  St. 
Mary's  river,  a  flat  and  low  district  of  pine  land,  offers  generally 
a  good  pasturage  for  stock,  but.  from  its  want  of  elevation  and 
fertility,  affords  but  a  few  spots,  widely  separated,  that  are  fit  for 
tillage.  In  approaching  the  Suwanee  river,  the  country  becomes 
more  elevated,  but  its  general  character  of  sterility  continues  until. 
about  twenty  miles  west  of  it.  the  Hickstown  tract  offers  the  first 
extensive  body  of  rich  lands.     Thence  to  the  Ocilla  river  the  country 


[Doe.  No.  152.]  11 

is  low,  and  thickly  studded  with  ponds  and  bays.  Between  the 
Ocilla  and  Ochlochney  rivers  lies  a  district  of  country,  which, 
although  generall}7  objectionable  on  account  of  its  hilly  surface, 
and  containing  much  land  that  is  poor,  is  yet,  on  the  whole,  one 
highly  favorable  to  agriculture.  Within  it,  particularly  near  the 
lakes  Mickasuky,  Yamonia,  and  Jackson,  are  extensive  tracts  of  rich 
oak  and  hickory  lands,  and  considerable  bodies  of  valuable  hammock. 
From  the  Ochlochney  to  Flint  river,  elevated  pine  lands  of  good 
quality  predominate,  with  strips  of  rich  hammock  on  Little  river, 
Attapulgus  Swamp  creek,  Wythlacoochie,  and  other  streams,  which, 
thickly  intersecting  this  district,  make  it  the  best  watered  of  any 
through  which  the  line  passes. 

The  discussions  on  the  subject  of  the  boundary  line  having  given 
importance  to  the  question,  whether  either  of  the  branches  had  been 
popularly  and  exclusively  called  the  St.  Mary's  river,  our  inquiries 
were  directed  to  procure  testimony  with  reference  to  it.  The  country 
in  which  these  streams  are  situated,  having  been  but  recently  settled, 
and  the  adjoining  territory  of  Georgia  at  all  times  very  sparsely 
inhabited,  the  sources  of  information  were  found  to  be  very  defect- 
ive. We  were,  however,  assured  by  Major  Clark,  whose  long  res- 
idence in  St.  Marys,  and  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  country, 
entitle  his  opinion  to  the  greatest  weight,  that  neither  of  the  branches 
has,  within  his  knowledge,  been  exclusively  called  the  St.  Mary's 
river  or  head  stream  of  it ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  have  always 
been  spoken  of  as  the  north,  middle,  or  west  and  south  prongs  of  the 
St.  Mary's.  Mr.  Israel  Barber,  who  has  resided  twenty-six  years 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  north  branch,  and  who  was  the  first  white 
settler  of  that  part  of  the  country,  as  well  as  every  individual  ques- 
tioned on  this  subject,  concurred  in  this  statement.  The  fact  that 
at  the  present  time  these  streams  are  universally  spoken  of  as  the 
branches  or  prongs  of  the  St.  Mary's,  and  neither  exclusively  as 
that  river,  is  a  negative  evidence  of  some  weight  on  the  subject,  as 
it  is  not  probable  that  any  designation  which  had  been  originally 
used  would  have  been  discontinued,  particularly  as  Mr.  Ellicott's 
selection  of  the  north  branch  would  have  tended  to  confirm  to  that 
stream  the  sole  and  exclusive  title  of  the  St.  Mary's  river,  had  it 
previously  existed. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect, 

Your  Excellency's  most  obedient  servants, 

J.  CRAWFORD. 

J.   HAMILTON   COUPER. 


29th  Congress,  [SENATE.]  [96] 

1st  Session. 


RESOLUTIONS 

OF 

THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  FLORIDA, 

IN    RELATION 

To  the  disputed  boundaries  between    that  State  and  Georgia  and 

Alabama. 

February  2,  1846. 

Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 


Resolutions  relative  to  the  appointment  of  a  commissioner  to  act 
with  commissioners  of  Alabama  and  Georgia,  to  ran  the  boundary 
line  between.  Florida  end  the  States  of  Georgia  and  Alabama. 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
State  of  Florida  in  General  Assembly  convened,  That  his  excellency 
the  governor  of  Florida  be.  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  to  appoint 
a  fit  and  competent  person  to  act  and  confer  with  persons  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  governors  of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  to  act  as  com- 
missioners to  run  and  mark  a  boundary  line  between  the  States  of 
Georgia.  Alabama,  and  Florida,  in  conformity  with  the  treaty  of 
1795  between  the  United  States  and  the  King  of  Spain;  and  his  ex- 
cellency the  governor  be  further  authorized  to  furnish  said  commis- 
sioner, on  the  part  of  Florida,  with  such  assistance  as  may  in  his 
opinion  be  necessary. 

Be  it  further  resolved.  That  the  governor  of  Florida  be,  and  he  is 
hereby,  authorized  and  required  to  ask  the  general  government, 
through  its  proper  authorities,  to  send  a  commissioner  on  the  part 
of  the  United  States  to  confer  with  the  commissioners  of  Georgia  and 
Alabama  and  Florida  in  running  and  marking  said  line,  and  to  act 
as  umpire  in  any  disagreement  which  may  occur  between  them ;  and 
that  our  Senators  and  Representative  in  Congress  be  asked  to  en- 
deavor to  obtain  an  appropriation  from  Congress  to  pay  the  same. 

(Adopted  by  the  House  of  Representatives  December  17,  1845; 
adopted  by  the  Senate  December  '20.  1845 :  approved  by  the  governor 
December'24.  1845.) 

State  of  Florida  : 

I,  James  T.  Archer,  secretary  of  state  of  Florida,  do  hereby  cer- 
tify that  the  foregoing  is  a  true  transcript  from  the  original  in  my 
office. 

Witness  my  hand  and  the  seal  of  the  State,  at  the  Capitol, 
[l.  s.]     in  Tallahassee,  this  24th  day  of  December.  A.  D.  1345.  and 
70th  vear  of  American  independence. 

JAMES  T.  ARCHER. 
Secretary  of  State  of  Florida. 


L96]  2 

Executive  Office. 
Tallahassee.  December  25,  1845. 
Sir  :  I  herewith  enclose  you  a  copy  of  "  resolutions  relative  to  the 
appointment  of  a  commissioner,  to  act  with  commissioners  of  Ala- 
bama and  Georgia,  to  run  the  boundary  line  between  Florida  and  the 
States  of  Georgia  and  Alabama.'"  in  which  "  our  Senators  and  Rep- 
resentative in  Congress  are  asked  to  endeavor  to  obtain  an  appro- 
priation from  Congress  to  pay  the  same.*'  when  said  States  shall  have 
acceded  to  the  propositions  contained  in  these  resolutions,  of  which 
}Tou  will  be  informed. 

I  have  also  transmitted  copies  of  these  resolutions  to  the  govern- 
ors of  Georgia  and  Alabama,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Levy,  and  to  our  Representative  in  Congress. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be.  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  D.  MOSELEY. 
Hon.  J.  D.  Westcott, 

TJ .  S.  Senate  i  from  Florida. 

Executive  Office, 
Tallahassee.  January  3,  1846. 
Sir:  A  communication  was  received  to-day  from  the  governor  of 
Georgia,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  sent  to  you. 

I  shall  proceed  forthwith  to  appoint  commissioners  on  the  part  of 
this  State,  with  a  surveyor  and  such  other  agents  as  may  be  found 
necessary  to  accomplish  this  long  delayed  object.  You,  of  course, 
are  apprized  of  our  poverty,  and  can  form  a  fair  estimate  of  the 
probable  expense  attending  it.  Is  there  no  way  of  placing  the  bur- 
den upon  the  purse  of  the  United  States?  If  there  be,  I  should  be 
obliged  to  you  for  any  aid  that  you  may  afford  us.  I  have  selected 
as  commissioners  on  the  part  of  this  State.  Governors  Duval  and 
Branch.     They  have  not  as  yet  advised  me  of  their  acceptance. 

Very  respectfully, 

W.  D.  MOSELEY. 
Hon.  J.  D.  Westcott,  Jr., 

United  States  Senate'/: 
P.  S.  I  have  addressed  a  note  to  the  President,  of  this  date,  on  the 
same  subject.  W.  D.  M. 

Executive  Department, 
Milled  gevitte,  December  20,  [30,]  1845. 

Sir:  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  yours  of  the  25th  instant, 
accompanied  by  a  resolution  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Florida, 
in  relation  to  the  boundary  of  that  State  and  of  Georgia.  I  hasten 
to  lay  before  you  a  copy  of  a  resolution  on  the  same  subject,  which 
the  legislature  of  this  State  lately  passed.  This  simultaneous  move- 
ment of  both  States,  acting  upon  the  suggestion  of  Florida.  I  trust 
may  be  regarded  as  an  earnest  of  the  inclination  prompting  each 
State  to  an  early  and  amicable  settlement  of  their  limits. 

It  will  be  my  purpose  to  organize  the  Georgia  commission  with  the 
greatest  dispatch,  and  give  notice  thereof  to  your  excellency.  I  shall 
hope  to  accomplish  this  duty  in  the  course"  of  thirty  days,  and  in 
the  meantime  shall  be  pleased  to  be  informed  of  the  corresponding 
action  by  the  authorities  of  Florida  on  this  subject. 


3  [96] 

You  will  allow  me  to  remark,  that  the  proposition  as  to  the  umpire 
is  objectionable,  for  various  reasons.  That  the  federal  government 
is,  to  some  extent,  directly  or  indirectly  concerned  in  the  decision  of 
the  question  of  boundary;  that  the  two  States  have  exclusive  author- 
ity over  the  question,  and  may  be  presumed  not  only  capable  but 
willing  to  decide  it,  according  to  the  conceded  premises,  with  mathe- 
matical accuracy,  and  that  delay  might  arise  in  the  execution  of  the 
work  from  a  want  of  congressional  action.  This  latter  suggestion  is 
made  from  the  previous  course  of  the  federal  government,  when 
Georgia  desired,  as  evinced  by  her  legislature  through  a  series  of 
years,  to  have  the  question  of  boundary  definitely  settled  whilst 
Florida  was  a  territory. 

I  will  only  add,  that  in  relation  to  the  expenses  of  the  commission, 
on  the  part  of  Georgia,  the  last  legislature  have  made  adequate 
provision. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  very  obedient  and 
humble  servant, 

GEO.  W.  CRAWFORD. 

His  Excellency  W.  D.  Moseley,  Tallahassee. 


IN  SENATE. 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State 
of  Georgia  in  Genered  Assembly  ?net,  That  his  excellency  the  gover- 
nor be,  and  he  is  hereby,  authorized  and  requested  to  appoint  two 
commissioners  on  the  part  of  this  State,  to  meet  such  commissioners 
as  may  be  appointed  on  the  part  of  Florida,  for  the  purpose  of  set- 
tling the  boundary  between  said  States,  under  such  restriction  as  he 
may  deem  necessary. 

Agreed  to,  December  6th,  1845. 

ABSALOM  H.  CHAPPELL, 

President  of  the  Senate. 
Test : 
Thos.  R.  R.  Cobb, 

Secretary  of  the  St  note. 

In  House  of  Representatives,  concurred  in,  December  23d,  1845. 

CHARLES  J.  JENKINS, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
Test: 
John  J.  Word, 

Clerk  House  of  Representatives. 

Assented  to.  December  29th,  1845. 

GEO.  W.  CRAWFORD,  Governor. 

Secretary  of  State's  Office, 
Milledgeville,  December  30,  1845. 
I  certify  that  the  above  is  a  true  copy  from  the  original  deposited 
in  this  office. 

[l.  s.]     Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  of  office. 

N.  C.  BARNETT, 

Secretary  of  State. 
43064— S.  Doc.  467,  60-1 12 


29th  Congress,  [SENATE.] 

1st  Session. 


DOCUMENTS 


IN    RELATION    TO 


The  disputed  boundary  line  between  the  State  of  Florida  and  the 
State  of  Georgia. 


Referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  and  ordered  to  be  printed. 


Executive  Department, 
Milledgeville,  January  26,  1846. 

Sir  :  In  further  prosecution  of  the  wish,  as  recently  expressed 
by  the  authorities  of  Florida,  and  readily  concurred  in  by  those  of 
Georgia,  of  having  definitely  established  the  boundary  between  them, 
I  have  now  to  say  to  your  excellency,  that  James  Hamilton  Couper 
and  Joel  Crawford,  esquires,  have  been  appointed  commissioners  on 
the  part  of  Georgia  to  join  such  as  may  be  designated  on  the  part 
of  Florida. 

I  have  availed  myself  of  the  first  moment  since  the  acceptance  of 
these  gentlemen  has  been  notified  to  this  department,  to  inform  your 
excellency  of  our  proceedings  on  this  subject,  and  beg  leave,  with 
great  respect,  to  suggest  that  the  business  of  the  commission  may  be 
commenced  at  the  shortest  period  compatible  with  the  convenience 
of  the  commissioners.  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  saying  to  the  gen- 
tlemen representing  Georgia,  that  I  shall  indicate  a  wish  to  your 
excellency  that  the  work  may  be  commenced  early  in  April  next,  and 
to  request  that  they  will  then  be  ready  for  the  service. 

In  the  meantime,  I  shall  be  happy  to  hear  from  your  excellency 
any  suggestions  which  may  expedite  and  conclude  this  controversy 
of  territorial  limits,  hitherto  peaceful,  between  the  States  of  Georgia 
and  Florida,  and  in  which  I  am  assured  that  both  desire  an  adjust- 
ment only  in  accordance  with  their  respective  rights. 

The  inquiries  made  suggestively  of  your  excellency,  especially  in 
reference  to  the  period  of  commencing  operations  by  the  commis- 
sioners, will  induce  me  to  expect  the  reply  of  your  excellency  at  your 
earliest  convenience ;  and  in  the  meantime,  to  say  that  I  remain,  with 
great  respect,  your  excellencv's  very  obedient,  humble  servant, 

G.  W.  CRAWFORD. 

His  Excellency  W.  D.  Moseley. 

Tallahassee. 


Executive  Department, 

Tallahassee,  February  2,  1846. 
Sir  :  Your  communication  of  the  26th  ultimo  was  received  this  day. 
In  reply,  I  have  the  honor  to  state  that  the  commissioners  on  the  part 


[133]  2 

of  this  State,  John  Branch  and  W.  P.  Duval,  esqrs.,  propose  to  meet 
the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  at  the  town 
of  St.  Mary's,  on  the  second  day  of  April  next,  as  the  most  suitable 
place  for  the  commencement  of  their  labors.  Should  it  be  more 
agreeable,  however,  to  the  commissioners  of  the  State  of  .Georgia  to 
select  some  other  day  and  place,  such  selection  will  be  acquiesced  in 
with  pleasure  on  the  part  of  the  commissioners  of  this  State,  being 
duly  notified  of  the  same. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  D.  MOSELEY. 

His  Excellency  G.  W.  Crawford, 

Milledgeville. 


317 

BIOS 


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